From KneeQuickie

Falgwian ['fa:5.gwi:an] (Falgwian: Falgwei ['fa5.gwaI']) is a language spoken by approximately 940,000 people in Falgwia (and surrounding countries). It is a language isolate, with no known linguistic relatives or ancestors beyond Old Falgwian. The order is Verb-Subject-Object (VSO) and nouns are governed by the cases, nominative, accusative, dative, locative, and an argued genitive. It has the moods, infinitive, indicative, potential optative, and imperative. And the tenses, present, habitual present, pretorite, aorist, and habitual past.

Contents 1 Grammar 1.1 Phonology 1.1.1 Consonants 1.1.2 Vowels 1.1.3 Alphabet 1.2 Pronouns 1.2.1 Nominative 1.2.2 Accusative 1.2.3 Dative 1.2.4 Locative 1.2.5 Genitive 1.2.6 Pronoun and Particle Supremacy 1.3 Nouns 1.3.1 Accusative Case 1.3.2 Dative Case 1.3.2.1 Other Uses of the Dative 1.3.3 Locative Case 1.3.4 Genitive Case/Condition 1.3.5 Case Summary 1.3.6 Dual 1.3.7 Plural 1.3.8 Comparatives and Superlatives 1.4 Verbs 1.4.1 Infinitive 1.4.2 Present or Base Tense 1.4.3 Habitual Present Tense 1.4.4 Imperfect Tense 1.4.5 Pretorite Tense 1.4.6 Aorist Tense 1.4.7 Pretorite vs. Aorist 1.4.8 Habitual Past Tense 1.4.9 Verb Summary 1.4.10 Negative 1.4.11 Potential Optative 1.4.12 Imperative 1.4.13 Passive 1.4.14 Irregular Verbs 1.5 Adjectives 1.6 Adverbs 1.6.1 Adverbs of Location 1.7 Clauses 1.7.1 Noun Clauses 1.7.2 Relative Clause 1.7.2.1 Relative Pronouns 1.7.2.2 Restrictive and Nonrestrictive Clauses 1.7.3 Adverbial Clauses 1.7.3.1 Subordinating Conjunctions 1.8 Prepositions 1.9 Ko Particle 1.10 Other Particles 1.11 Demonstratives 1.12 Syntax 2 Numbers 3 Punctuation 4 Telling Time 5 Expressing Age 6 Writing A Letter 7 Patronymic Naming System in Falgwian 8 Common Phrases and Expressions

Grammar

Phonology

Consonants

	Bilabial	Labiodental	Alveolar	Velar	Uvular
Plosive	b p		t d	k g
Nasal	m		n
Trill			r
Fricative		f	s		X
Labio				w
Lateral Approximates			l

-w stays as [w] in consonant clusters (except the exception with h below), and also word initially unless the following word ends in a vowel. Between vowels such as VCV, [w] allophones to [B]. [w] allophones to [b] in all situations that are CV (except where the preceding word ends in a vowel). This is due to lenition in Old Falgwian of /b/, as well as fortition of /w/ in non onset forms which allophoned to /B/.

-v as [v] is seen only in loanwords and oftentimes is completely allophoned to [w].

-f is realised as [f] word-initially and word finally. f is realised as [p] intervocalicaly and in the consonant clusters fm, fn, and pf which are realised as [p] due to the laxation of consonant clusters. [p] is also preserved in many loanwords ie. Priwet! A common greeting from Russian Privet. Over time, [p] has been lost and resurrected in Falgwian. Most recently its revival was due to German influence, causing the allophoning of [f] to [p], especially in the few remaining consonant clusters in Falgwian.

- The diphthongs ia, ie, io, and iu are all realised as [j]+vowel (except where seen word finally in loanwords). These are all created diphthongs to manage German and Russian loanwords. Some traditional words and names can still be found with the original loss of loaned [j] ie. Ohan not Iohan (Johann).

-h is realised as [X] unless followed by w, where it allophones to [W]. h is also realised as /h/ in most pronouns, particles, and prepositions.

-l is realised as [l] initially and word medially as in CV.CV where C is [l].

-l is realised as [5] only if syllable final.

The basic syllabic structure of Falgwian is CV.CV, with occasional consonant clusters usually consisting of C+/w/.

There is final obstruent devoicing of [d] to [t] and [g] to [k] in unstressed final syllables.

Vowels

Falgwian Script	X-SAMPA	Example
i	/i/	dim ('because')
e	/E/	dem (subjunctive particle)
y	/1/	fwyt ('with')
a	/a/	wat ('I am')
o	/O/	nok ('if')
u	/u/	tu ('more')

Ai is /eI/.

Ei is /aI/.

- e is [e] in an open syllable (CV), [E] in a closed syllable (CVC), [3] before a rhotic (r) in a closed syllable, and [@] when unstressed word final.

-Stress is always on the first syllable in Falgwian.

Alphabet

A AI, D, E, EI, F, G, H, I, K, L, M, N, O, P, R, S, T, U, V, W, Y

The alphabet is pronounced as follows:

/a:/ /eI:/ /de:/ /e:/ /aI:/ /ef:/ /ga:/ /Xa:/ /i:/ /ka:/ /e5/ /em/ /en/ /O/ /pe:/ /er/ /es/ /te:/ /u:/ /ve;/ /be:/ /1:bsilOnaI/*

• Spelled Ywsilonie

Pronouns

Nominative

N.B. Pay close attention to the pronunciations.

First person:

	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ha	hyha	hami

-Ha is pronounced /a/ in unstressed positions and /ha/ in stressed positions. /Xa/ is almost nonexistent in speech.

Second person:

	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	nywi	nyhi	nami

Third person masculine:

	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	mi	myhi	mami

Third person feminine:

	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	li	lyhi	lami

Third person inanimate:

The nominative third person inanimate pronouns are not declined to the level of other pronouns of the third person. Also note, the third person inanimate is used to refer to a group of men and women.

	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	teiwi	teihi	teimi

A Special Note

A special note on all third person inanimate pronouns of all cases. Only the -ai forms are still used, regardless of ending, they are bolded. For informational sake, all the forms are provided. They are frequentely seen in literature dating from before the 20th century. They are also heard in dialects in the countryside that haven't been much affected by the regularising of the language.

Accusative

The accusative pronouns are suffixed by a hyphen to the verb according to particle supremacy. The accusative also serves the purpose of the reflexive since Falgwian has no explicit reflexive. While any transitive action can become recipricol ie. reflexive, Falgwian has a tendency to use the reflexive less often than Indo-European languages. It should also be noted that the reflexive can be used to state a general action without the need for a personal subject as in The project will finish itself as opposed to I will finish the project (though both are equally acceptable).

First person:

	Singular	Dual	Plural
Accusative	wa	wyha	wama

Second person:

	Singular	Dual	Plural
Accusative	na	nyha	nama

Third person masculine:

	Singular	Dual	Plural
Accusative	ma	myha	mama

Third person feminine:

	Singular	Dual	Plural
Accusative	la	lyha	lama

Third person inanimate:

	Singular		Dual		Plural
	-a	-ai	-a	-ai	-a	-ai
Accusative	ta	tai	taha	tahai	tama	tamai

	Singular	Dual	Plural
	-ei	-ei	-ei
Accusative	tasei	tahei	tamei

	Singular		Dual		Plural
	-y	-e	-y	-e	-y	-e
Accusative	tasy	tase	tahy	tahe	tamy	tame

Dative

Like the accusative pronouns, dative pronouns are suffixed by a hyphen to the verb according to particle supremacy.

N.B. Ocassionally the final -e is dropped off of the dative pronouns. This varies by dialect, but is becoming more widespread due to frequent use by the younger generation. In the dual, this causes the deletion of /h/.

First person:

	Singular	Dual	Plural
Dative	we	wyhe	wame

Second person:

	Singular	Dual	Plural
Dative	ne	nyhe	name

Third person masculine:

	Singular	Dual	Plural
Dative	mywe	myhe	mame

Third person feminine:

	Singular	Dual	Plural
Dative	lywe	lyhe	lame

Third person inanimate:

	Singular		Dual		Plural
	-a	-ai	-a	-ai	-a	-ai
Dative	te	tie	teha	tehai	tema	temai

	Singular	Dual	Plural
	-ei	-ei	-ei
Dative	tesei	tehei	temei

	Singular		Dual		Plural
	-y	-e	-y	-e	-y	-e
Dative	tesy	tese	tehy	tehe	temy	teme

Locative

The locative pronouns follow most prepositions except fwyt (with) and a few others which are specified later. The locative is also used after certain verbs.

First person:

	Singular	Dual	Plural
Locative	wu	wyhu	wamu

Second person:

	Singular	Dual	Plural
Locative	nu	nyhu	namu

Third person masculine:

	Singular	Dual	Plural
Locative	mu	myhu	meimu

Third person feminine:

	Singular	Dual	Plural
Locative	lu	lyhu	leimu

Third person inanimate:

	Singular		Dual		Plural
	-a	-ai	-a	-ai	-a	-ai
Locative	tu	ty	tuha	tuhai	tuma	tumai

	Singular	Dual	Plural
	-ei	-ei	-ei
Locative	tusei	tuhei	tumei

	Singular		Dual		Plural
	-y	-e	-y	-e	-y	-e
Locative	tusy	tuse	tuhy	tuhe	tumy	tume

Genitive

First person:

	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	hywa	hyha	hiema
Accusative	hywat	hyhat	hiemat
Dative	hywam	hyham	heimam
Locative	hywag	hyhag	heimag

Second person:

	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	nywa	nyha	neima
Accusative	nywat	nyhat	neimat
Dative	nywam	nyham	neimam
Locative	nywag	nyhag	neimag

Third person masculine:

	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	mywa	myha	meima
Accusative	mywat	myhat	meimat
Dative	mywam	myham	meimam
Locative	mywag	myhag	meimag

Third person feminine:

	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	lywa	lyha	leima
Accusative	lywat	lyhat	leimat
Dative	lywam	lyham	leimam
Locative	lywag	lyhag	leimag

Third person inanimate:

	Singular		Dual		Plural
	-a	-ai	-a	-ai	-a	-ai
Nominative	tywa	tywai	tywoha	tywohai	tywoma	tywomai
Accusative	tywat	tywait	tywohat	tywohait	tywomat	tywomait
Dative	tywam	tywaim	tywoham	tywohaim	tywomam	tywomaim
Locative	tywag	tywaig	tywohag	tywohaig	tywomag	tywomaig

	Singular	Dual	Plural
	-ei	-ei	-ei
Nominative	tywei	tywohei	tywomei
Accusative	tyweit	tywoheit	tywomeit
Dative	tyweim	tywoheim	tywomeim
Locative	tyweig	tywoheig	tywomeig

	Singular		Dual		Plural
	-y	-e	-y	-e	-y	-e
Nominative	tywy	tywe	tywohy	tywohe	tywomy	tywome
Accusative	tywyt	tywet	tywohyt	tywohet	tywomyt	tywomet
Dative	tywym	tywem	tywohym	tywohem	tywomym	tywomem
Locative	tywyg	tyweg	tywohyg	tywoheg	tywomyg	tywomeg

Pronoun and Particle Supremacy

Falgwian uses a system of pronoun and particle supremacy whereas post-verbal pronouns and particles, either hyphenated or not, must follow a verb in a strict syntactic order. That order is:

Verb-Accusative-Dative Tense Negative Nominative

For example:

Linokair-ta-ne nas wi ha.

Give1PS-it-to you AOR NEG I

I never gave it to you.

Nouns

Nouns are divided into categories by their nominative endings, -a, -ai, -ie, -y, or -e. The most common ending is -ai, followed by -ei, -a, -y, and rarest, -e. They are occasionally grouped together by ending similarities as -a/-ai, -ei, -e/-y. They are governed by the Nominative, Accusative, Dative, and Locative cases. A Genitive case is argued to exist, but it is so degraded that some simply call it an irregular system. Cases do not always remove endings, so follow each on a case by case basis.

Accusative Case

-a and -ai nouns add the ending -t

For example:

Taima- Taimat

Taimai- Taimait

-ei nouns take off the -ei and replace it with -y

For example:

Melokei- Meloky

-e and -y nouns add -n

For example:

Fyste- Fysten

Hywy- Hywyn

Dative Case

-a, -ai, and -ei nouns remove their endings and add -u:

Taima- Taimu

Teimai- Teimu

Melokei- Meloku

-e and -y nouns add -m

Fyste- Fystem Hywy- Hywym

Other Uses of the Dative

The dative case has another use after the preposition fwyt (with). For example:

Gweir nas tyky fwyt sinelu

I saw a man with a coat.

There are also some verbs which always take the dative, for example, nadyseit (to hold):

Nadyseir nas ha medailu uwa heimag mai'kulinag.

I held the medal firmly in my hands.

Locative Case

The Locative Case is very similar to the same case as used in Slavic languages like Polish or Russian.

-a and -ai nouns add the ending -g.

For example:

Taima- Taimag

Taimai- Taimaig

-ei nouns take off the -ei and replace it with -ig.

For example:

Melokei- Melokig

-e nouns add a -g.

For example:

Fyste- Fysteg

-y nouns take off -y and replace is with -eig.

For example:

Hywy to Hyweig

Using the Locative for location.

When there is a clause of static location using the copula, you can use the nominative pronoun + locative ending on the noun.

Ha taimaig.

I house-LOC

I'm at the house.

There is also no "to" when using location.

Genitive Case/Condition

The Genitive adds -wydu to the possessed noun, and the possessor remains unmarked. The possessor always comes second to the marked possessed noun and is marked for plurality and case. The possessor also dictates the ending used for the noun phrase. The only exception is that -e nouns take the ending -wydo.

For example:

Taima-wydu kuwynai

House-GEN dog

The Dog's House

Notice how kuwynai retains its nominative form, while -wydu has been attached to taima.

The genitive can also be used to mark the direct object of a negative verb, but it sounds very poetic and formal and it's hardly used by Falgwians since the genitive is a real pain to speak and write.

Case Summary

	-a	-ai	-ei	-y	-e
Nominative	-a	-ai	-ei	-y	-e
Accusative	-at	-ait	-y	-yn	-en
Dative	-u	-u	-u	-ym	-em
Locative	-ag	-aig	-ig	-eig	-eg

Dual

If you have only two of a thing, the prefix he' has to be prefixed to the noun and no plural marker is used. He' is pronounced /he/, or occasionally /e/.

Plural

The plural is prefixed, and so it does not interrupt the case endings attached to a noun. There is no plural prefix for -e and -y nouns. The plural marker is derived from the word mugymen meaning "many," and literally means "many," or three or more.

-a nouns: mai'

-ai nouns: ma'

-ie nouns: mu'

-y and -e nouns: No plural possible through prefixation. The particle mugy can precede any -y and -e noun and indicates many.

Comparatives and Superlatives

To form a comparative in Falgwian add the word mise, usually, at the beginning of the sentence, and then followed immediately after by the comparative adjective. The unmarked relative pronoun form, naiwar corresponds to English "than."

Mise namedais wat igun taima naiwar agun taima.

More niceADJENDG be3PS that house that yonder house

That house is nicer than that further house.

To form a superlative use the modified form of mise, misenyt, which usually comes at the beginning of the sentence with the copula:

Misenyt namedais wat taima.

Most prettyADJENDG is house

That house is the prettiest.

Kalotein-wa ly teiwi wagweit mysenyt simideis tyky uwa Artig!

Cause3PS-meACC IMPRF itNOM tobeINFIN most happyADJENDG man on earthLOC!

It made me the happiest man on earth.

N,B.- Misenyt is not the same word as Dak, and can only be used with adjectives in superlative constructions.

To say something is as...as, use the expression My...Ko.

My hweides wiet mu'nulanei ko ma'wananai.

As tastyADJENDG are PLRLapple ko PLRLbanana.

Apples are as tasty as bananas.

N.B. Medy and Tedy become Med and Ted to form comparatives and superlatives.

Verbs

Infinitive

The infinitive ends in -eit or -ait and divides the verb conjugation for the present/base tense.

Infinitive: Mywait- To eat

Infinitive: Faligeit- To want

N.B.- In an infinitive noun phrase, all particles and pronouns follow the first conjugated verb, then any additional infinitives are added.

Present or Base Tense

The present tense (or sometimes, the base tense) conjugation serves as the base for all other tenses, making it the only verb conjugation.

Conjugation Summary:

	-ait	-eit
Ha	-air	-eir
Nywi	-aim	-eim
Mi/Li/Tiewi	-ain	-ein
Hyha	-yr	-yr
Nyhi	-ym	-ym
Myhi/Lyhi/Tiehi	-yn	-yn
Hami	-ir	-ir
Nami	-im	-im
Mami/Lami/Tiemi	-in	-in

Habitual Present Tense

The habitual present tense refers to an action done in habit. Often words in English such as always or every may serve as a cue to when to mark the habitual. It is marked by a prefix to the present tense conjugated verb.

-ait verbs: my'

-iet verbs: mei'

To express a time measurement with the habitual, use the noun adverbially (by first turning it into an adjective by adding -d).

Talaidu my'wonair.

DayAVB work1PS.

I work every day.

Imperfect Tense

The imperfect tense is marked using the particle ly positioned after the verb according to particle supremacy. The particle never inflects for person, number, or ending. The imperfect tense serves the purpose of marking an event with no explicit ending. There isn't too much surprising about the imperfect from the imperfect in IE languages. One interesting note is that the imperfect is always used in a main clause even when an ending seems implied.

Takyneir ly, sitylu hwanysair nas keiwyn.

Study1PS IMPRF, then open1PS AOR doorACC.

I was studying, then I opened the door.

The former clause is an imperfect situation, and the latter an aorist/pretorite situation, depending.

A Special Note Regarding the Imperfect

Among the younger generation the imperfect is falling out of use in favour of the pretorite/aorist. While this is not accepted in formal writing and speaking, it is very much becoming the norm in casual speech and writing.

Pretorite Tense

The pretorite tense marks unimportant complete past tense events. It is often paired with the aorist, and is usually not regulated by strict rules, opting rather to be quite subjective. It is marked by a prefix to the present tense conjugated verb.

-ait verbs: fa'

-eit verbs: fy'

The pretorite is often used to set the scene, as opposed to the imperfect.

Fy'wat huladas talai.

PRET'is3PS sunADJENDG day.

It was a sunny day.

Aorist Tense

The aorist tense is formed with the axillary particle nas which follows the present form of the verb according to particle supremacy. The particle never inflects for person, ending, or number. The aorist serves the purpose of emphasising completed events. It is often paired with the pretorite, and is usually not regulated by strict rules, opting rather to be quite subjective.

Pretorite vs. Aorist

There are no rules to when to use the pretorite or the aorist. One can use the aorist or pretorite, respectively, for an entire paragraph, and in fact, some writers find it preferable. There is no manner to state a general past in Falgwian outside the imperfect (which would add an imperfect time frame) so one must pick between the pretorite or the aorist. The aorist is stronger at emphasising the action than the pretorite is at deemphasise it, however, so the pretorite would more likely be used for a general past (although, Falgwians themselves typically avoid speaking in generals, rather they prefer to emphasise or deemphasise past actions.

Mywair nas nulany, hylo fa'masykair-tasei.

Eat1PS AOR appleACC, then PRET'rid1PS-itACC.

I ate the apple, then I threw it away.

Mywait would most likely be in the aorist, and masykait in the pretorite. But this is not always the case. It depends on the emphasis the speaker is trying to convey.

Habitual Past Tense

The habitual past tense works the same way as the habitual present tense, except it refers to something that used to be done as a habit. It is marked by a prefix to the present tense conjugated verb.

-ait verbs: ty'

-iet verbs: tei'

Verb Summary

	-ait	-eit
Imperfect	ly	ly
Pretorite	fa'	fy'
Aorist	nas	nas
Habitual Present	my'	mei'
Habitual Past	ty'	tei'

Negative

The particle wi means "not" and follows the verb. Wi- can also be hypened to a noun to make its opposite, as in wi-taima homeless (this goes for all the forms illustrated below). Falgwian has no concept of the double negative as it is known in English. Various ways to express the negative are outlined below.

Nek- No

Neki- Nothing

Nekan- Nobody/one

Nekut- Nowhere

Neket- Never (Used to mean "never up to the time of reference," see Teine particle for contrastive uses)

The negative quantifier will always come after any particle involved in particle supremacy.

Lymeir wi neki.

I have nothing.

Gweir wi nekan

I can't see anybody.

N.B.- In Falgwian, a negative sentence that uses any in English, uses nek. Mek is only used in non-negative sentences.

Negative particles can also be stacked up, as such (the order does not matter):

Tywaisair nas wi neki nekut nakan.

I didn't buy anything anywhere for anyone.

Other forms that follow the same rule, but do not use the negative particle wi:

Mek- Any/Some

Mekan- Any/Somebody/one

Meki- Any/Something

Mekut- Any/Somewhere

Meket- Any/Sometime

Dak- Most

Dakan- Most people

Daki- Most things

Dakut- Most places

Daket- Most times

Tyk- Every/Each/All

Tykan- Everybody/one/Each person/All persons

Tyki- Everything/Each thing/All things

Tykut- Everywhere/Each place/All places

Tyket- Everytime/Each/All times

N.B.- To express the opposite of Dak, add San- as a prefix, so Few things is San-dak. Also, any of the above particles may be hyphened to a noun.

Nekan, Mekan, Dakan, Tykan can also be used as pronouns as mekan/nekan/dakan/tykan-fan:

Tenein mekan-fan mywait.

Anyone can eat.

Potential Optative

The potential optative marks anything that might happen in the future 'I might go to the mall later' Or 'I might go with him'. There is no marker in Falgwian of absolute future constructions ie. what is often indicated in English by 'will'.

To mark the potential optative, add the particles dyn for -ait verbs and dein for -iet verbs after the verb according to particle supremacy.

Imperative

The imperative is very simple, simply drop the t from the infinitive. The imperative can refer to all persons or one person, there is no distinction made. The negative imperative simply adds wi after the verb.

Passive

To construct the passive in Falgwian, use the conjugated infinitive for the instigator (in English, what is followed by 'by'). Attach the accusative of the object affected by the instigator as well as any other particles after according to particle supremacy. Finally, attach nat by a hyphen to the instigator of the action. Nat is a passive marking particle. Any tense may be used, but the Aorist is most common.

For example:

Lynakein-wa nas nat-tykei

Kick3PS-1PSACC AOR PAS-man

I was kicked by the man

[Lit: Kicked-me by man]

But, what about, I was kicked?

Lynakein-wa nas nat

Kick3PS-meACC AOR PAS

I was kicked.

Irregular Verbs

Infinitive: Wagweit- To be

Ha- War

Nywi- Wam

Mi/Li/Teiwi- Wat

Hyha- Wys

Nyhi- Wan

Myhi/Lyhi/Teihi- Wyd

Hami- Weir

Nami- Weim

Mami/Lami/Teimi- Weit

Special Note: When Wagweit is used with a question word:

Hwar- What

Hwog- How

Hwyn- Which

Hwen- Why

Hwak- When

Hwit- Who

Hwis- Where

It contracts as such: Hwar'a (But: Hwog'ar), Hwar'am, Hwar'at, Hwar'ys (But: Hwis'y), Hwar'an, Hwar'yd, Hwar'eir, Hwar'iem.

Expressions of obligation:

To have to- Fyneit

Adjectives

Adjectives precede the noun and match the noun in number, ending, and case. They are usually found in the dictionary as ending in a -d, although irregularities do exist. The -d form is also the form used for the plural of -y and -e nouns. When multiple adjectives modify the same noun, they are hyphenated together.

	Singular		Dual		Plural
	-a	-ai	-a	-ai	-a	-ai
Nominative	-ais	-as	-ihais	-ihas	-imais	-imas
Accusative	-ait	-at	-ihait	-ihat	-imait	-imat
Dative	-aim	-am	-ihaim	-iham	-imaim	-imam
Locative	-aig	-ag	-ihaig	-ihag	-imaig	-imag
Genitive	-ain	-an	-ihain	-ihan	-imain	-iman

	Singular	Dual	Plural
	-ei	-ei	-ei
Nominative	-es	-ihes	-imes
Accusative	-et	-ihet	-imet
Dative	-em	-ihem	-imem
Locative	-eg	-iheg	-imeg
Genitive	-en	-ihen	-imen

	Singular		Dual
	-y	-e	-y	-e
Nominative	-eis	-is	-iheis	-ihis
Accusative	-iet	-it	-iheit	-ihit
Dative	-eim	-im	-iheim	-ihem
Locative	-eig	-ig	-iheig	-iheg
Genitive	-ein	-in	-ihein	-ihin

N.B. Medy and Tedy become Med and Ted to form comparatives and superlatives.

Adverbs

Adverbs precede verbs and generally end in -u, and less often -un. Adverbs are not listed in dictionaries, and are made by the addition of -u or -un to adjectives. They are entirely regular, and go immediately before verbs. To form an adverb, simply add -u to the end of an adjective. Only add -un if the adjective ends in a stop, ie. t, k, n, and m. -n is also used when an adjective ends in a vowel.

Adverbs of Location

Falgwian has several forms for the adverbs of location ie. English here and there (as well as now and then)

Situ- Here (close to speaker) Now (Soon)

Sitymu- There (close to listener) No form

Sitywu- There (moderately far from speaker (may or may not be close to listener)) Now/Then (Unspecified time (interchangeable with below))

Sitylu- Yonder (very far from speaker (may or may not be very far from listener)) Now/Then (Unspecified time (interchangeable with above))

Sityhu- Yonder (very far from speaker and listener) Then (Far off)

Clauses

Noun Clauses

A Falgwian noun clause involves the subordinate clause acting as the subject, object, indirect object, genitive object, or locative object of the independent clause. Noun clauses cannot be formed in Falgwian to represent situations where the subordinate clause is a subject compliment or adjective compliment. Noun clauses use the appropriate relative pronouns (see below). The pronouns are declined ONLY for the case of the subordinate clause. The syntax of such clauses is always:

V (S), rel. pn. and clause

Relative Clause

Relative clauses are dependent clauses that modify nominals, that is, either nouns or noun phrases. Falgwian relative clauses used to behave as common adjectives, this is, they preceded the noun they were modifying [their head], but in the last years it has assimilated to a degree. Furthermore, Falgwian relative pronouns have quite a complex morphology that, with a few irregularities, are largely agglutinating. Syntactically, relative clauses come after the verb in a sentence, and before their head. In Falgwian their syntax is thus:

V (S) , rel. pn. and clause , Antecedent (O)

Relative Pronouns

Relative pronouns have basically three parts; in morphological order they are the number agreement, the root, which we can think about as being the actual relative pronoun, and the case (relative pronouns are not declined for noun endings). The number agreement is simple enough; nothing for the singular, he'- for the dual and ma'- for the plural. For case, the pronoun is declined according to -a nouns (-a is added before the ending where necessary). Relative pronouns are consistent, they do not change depending on if they are or are not the same subject as the antecedent.

	Relative Pronoun Root	English Equivalent
Thing	Naiwar	What, That
Manner or Reason	Naiwog	Why, When
XXXX	Dawyn	Which
Person	Dawit	Who
Time	Dawak	When
Place	Dawynmutei	Where
Condition	Dawok	If/Whether

As can be seen the second part of the relative pronoun roots mirror pretty precisely the interrogative pronouns, save that they don’t have an initial h-, save for dawynmutei, which probably stems from a periphrastic which place construction, the fact that naiwog conflates the semantic functions of hwog and hwen (the interrogative how and why particles), and that dawok is likely the remnant of no longer existing conditional interrogative pronoun).

Restrictive and Nonrestrictive Clauses

A restrictive clause is a relative clause which is, in English, not offset by commas and adds necessary information to the antecedent. While a nonrestrictive clause is, in English, offset by commas and unnecessary to the construction of the sentence; it simply provides extra information. Falgwian forms such clauses the same making no distinction. They are formed as normal adjectives, so therefore the order is:

V (S), rel. pn. and non/restrictive clause, Antecedent (O)

Ko afrikai uwa fliterwokenig, dawit kytalai manafein nas, tykie

The man who got married yesterday is going on his honeymoon to Africa.

Ko afrikai uwa fliterwokenig, dawit kytalai manafein nas, tykie

The man, who got married yesterday, is going on his honeymoon to Africa.

Adverbial Clauses

Falgwian uses “subordinisors” or subordinating conjunctions to introduce adverbial clauses that act as adverbs by modifying verbs. Like normal adverbs, adverbial clauses introduced by subordinating conjunctions precede the verb they modify.

Subordinating Conjunctions

Subordinisor	Meaning
Fwaina	Before that
Yti	After that
Yna	By the time that, As soon as that
Noka	Since that
Mili	While that
Kylu	If that
Hwa	Only if that, Only when that
My	Like that, Similarly that
Tulu	Imitating that, Trying to look like that
Al	Even though that, Regardless of that
Weli	Because that

Also, these kind of adverbial phrases can be preceded by the negative particle wi, which turns the polarity of the entire adverbial phrase to negative. The syntax, therefore, surrounding subordinators is:

(wi) sub clause, V (S) O

Prepositions

To give a mere list of all Falgwian prepositions with English equivalents for each of them is futile, since the use of prepositions varies so much from one language to another. For example: the English preposition in frequently corresponds to the Falgwian preposition uwo; but this does not apply to such constructions as in a week (Falgwian: ko kelimeg), in the reign of King John (Falgwian: yna ewokei-wydu kenig-Ohan), in my opinion (Falgwian: ko hywa tylanai), a man in a coat (Falgwian: tykei fwyt sinelu), in memory of (ko mynasai), etc. The correct use of the prepositions can only be learnt through practice, but examples may give an illustration of their use. The most important Falgwian prepositions are listed below, in their alphabetical order, and for each preposition is given (a) the most important English equivalents, (b) examples illustrating their principal use, and (c) special idioms. Ko is not discussed here. (Loc) indicates that the preposition takes the locative.

Fyrina [f1rina]

(I) In front of

Wam nywi fyrina nu. (Loc) He is in front of you.

Fawynin nas fyrina taimaig. (Loc) They met in front of the house.

(2) Before

Wat mywa tyk-faly fyrina mu. (Loc) His whole life was in front of him.

Hwytin [W1tin]

(I) After (rank, place, number, time, etc.)

Ynamai keiwyn hwytin nu! (Loc) Shut the door after yourself!

Talai hwytin talaig. (Loc) Day after day.

Nadysein nas Mynomasei residenu hwytin Kalutanei. Mynomasei became president after Kalutanei.

(2) For (intention)

Fa'ko li maketei hwytin wutaig. (Loc) She went to the store for butter.

Gwein ly mi hwytin mywag welosiwig. (Loc) He looked for his bike.

Rytamein nas mi taimu hwytin nykonig. (Loc) He wrote home for money.

Faligein ly mi hwytin lu. (Loc) He longed for her.

N.B. The beneficiary for/to uses hywtin.

Ka [ka]

(I) Through

Lynein ly mi ka tylawa memaseig. (Loc) He walked through the forest.

Talyhein nas ka agenig. (Loc) It was sold through an agent.

Fy'feir ka hywag feikwaig. (Loc) I heard it from my sister.

Gwein ly mi ka okinaig. (Loc) He looked in through the window.

Gwei-tai ka YouTube Watch it on YouTube.

(2) Throughout

Ka mywag faleig. (Loc) Throughout one's life.

Lina [lina]

(I) By, past

Fy'lynein mi lina wu. (Loc) He walked right by me.

(2) Beyond

Wat teine lina ky. That's way beyond normal.

Tatu [tatu]

(I) From

Lymeir syweirait tatu hywa mekei. I have a letter from my friend.

Ko nas mi tatu taimai ko taimai. He went from house to house.

Kelime tatu fweitake. A week from Friday.

Wie tatu- Apart from, besides

(2) Off

Leiwysein sarinei tatu wiresei. The wind blows off the pier.

Werytei-no tatu kreditai-wydu nykonei! Keep away from money-lenders!

N.B. The location-wydu form often used to express where one is from can only be used with actual locations or equivalent.

Y [1]

(I) At (aim)

Masykin nas wunyn y kuwynaig. (Loc) They threw stones at the dog.

Masykain nas mami y maseig. (Loc) He aimed at the tree.

(2) Towards

Gweir y memaseig. (Loc) I look towards the forest

Ko Particle

Ko has many uses in Falgwian of which several are outlined below. It's worth mentioning that one of ko's principle uses is as the Falgwian verb to go, albeit it is not used like a normal verb. As the verb to go, ko is used to indicate the travel to a place (Note that ko cannot be used in the imperative and never calls upon the locative).

Ko ha Tywei.

I go to Tywei.

Ko dyn taimai.

Ko FUTOPT I house

I will go to the house.

Faligier ko Tywei.

Want1PS I go Tywei

I want to go to Tywei.

Also note that any tense marker (including the potential optative) can be placed directly after ko to indicate the appropriate tense. Ko always takes the -ait form. No hyphens are used with ko.

Ko is also used as Ko-DAT (lit: It goes to SUB) to indicate a sense of to pass/to spend. This construction is extremely common in Falgwian:

Ko-we nas wuly ko monitake.

I went to the beach on Monday.

Ko is also used in time constructions such as ago and others illustrated below:

Sityhu nefemair nas ko manis mylime.

I lived there three years ago.

Damasier (dein) ko kelime.

I leave in a week.

Dylunain-tai (dyn) wydasenei ko kelime.

The project will take a week to complete.

Ko is also used to emphasise a personal or important noun. This use of ko is trickier but it is not a hard and fast rule so it's not required. Note: This use of ko can only be used when the noun referenced by ko is in the nominative or genitive.

Ko hywa tylanai.

In my opinion.

Ko mynasai-wydu Tekei.

In memory of Tekei.

Tei'getameir ko hywa leikwai misenyt hweidat ma'fadatait.

My mother used to make the best cookies.

The particle ko is presumed to have been formed of a merger between the verb to go (which is assumed to have been konait though nothing is known for sure) and a preposition ko.

Other Particles

Ony Particle:

To say something is about a topic or a thing, say politics, say Ony'politiky, or On' if a vowel. The current genitive is almost definite and is more concrete and formal and some would say slightly archaic. If you want your specific Politics Book, use the Genitive, if you want a book about Politics, say Ony'politiky nywokai. This is also used for names of news companies, magazines, and general companies. It is more indefinite. In fact, in some dialects and demographics, especially among teenagers, the genitive is almost completely falling out of use and being replaced by the Ony particle.

Teine Particle:

Teine means never as in "never up until to the time of reference, and never in the future." It is a strong word and often stressed. Teine contrasts with Neket in that Neket means "never up until the time of reference, but no consensus on the future".

There is also Teini+adjective which is roughly equivalent to English so, really, super in so much, really hot, super cool, etc.

At Particle:

The At particle is no longer used in modern Falgwian. Its use is only preserved in some phrases such At Tugalin (For Luck's Sake). In some earlier writing--pre 19th century--the at particle may be seen in infinitival phrases. For example: Faligeir at mywait (I want to eat). This form is no longer used in favour of simply stacking the verbs together ie. Faligeir mywait.

K'y Particle:

The K'y particle indicates the approachment of a goal. It is a contraction of Ko and Y. It is used as follows; case markings are not used:

Myreir naiwarat katalai hylateir k'y ekisamai.

I believe that I am going to pass the test tomorrow.

Demonstratives

The demonstratives are both adjectives and pronouns and they don't decline. They are not as commonly used as in English or French, and are only beginning to see more usage among the younger generation as a manner to be more expressive. They are from the Polish accusative pronouns.

	Falgwian	English
1	egun	this
2	mugegun	these
3	igun	that
4	mugigun	those
5	agun	yonder
6	mugagun	yonders

Syntax

Except in rare cases such as those mentioned above with comparatives, superlatives, and adverbs, the verb must begin a Falgwian sentence. One exception to this rule not noted above is that, in more elevated speech, if an adverb precedes a verb, the verb can be pushed past the noun in the sentence so long as the subject and object are not pronouns. For example:

Medu mywat wolykait lumasein nas.

He cleaned his room well.

Numbers

See Falgwian Numbers

Numbers in Falgwian are base 5.

	Ordinal
1	dana
2	lana
3	mana
4	wana
5	sana
6	dadana
7	dalana
8	damana
9	dawana
10	dasana

There are no ordinal numbers beyond using the numbers as adjectives. Zero is onama.

Punctuation

Falgwian punctuation consists of many of the same punctuation marks as most European languages ie. periods, commas, colons, semi-colons, question marks, exclamation marks, parenthesis, etc. A few unique uses are outlined below:

Commas- Falgwian always uses commas to offset subordinate clauses as well as infinitives. It also uses commas to link two independent clauses where there is no conjunction. Falgwian also does not have the concept of the Oxford comma in lists (ie. the final comma before and). Finally, like other European languages, Falgwian uses a comma where American English uses a decimal point in numerical expressions. However, Falgwian uses a decimal point or space where American English uses a comma in larger numbers.

Quotation Marks- Falgwian uses the quotation marks „ “ as well as «  »/»«, however the latter is seen far less frequently. There are no rules regarding which to use. Falgwian places all additional punctuation within the quotation marks. Quotation marks in Falgwian, however, have a more expanded use than in English. Where in English they are used for the titles of poems, articles, short stories, songs and TV shows, in Falgwian they are also used for titles of books, novels, films, dramatic works and the names of newspapers or magazines (which would be italicized (or underlined in writing) in English). Lastly, Falgwian uses the single quotation , ’ marks to mark a quotation within a quotation.

Apostrophe- The apostrophe is widely used in Falgwian to mark the contraction of certain particles as outlined above. It is also used to indicate part of a word which is missing.

Dash- The dash is used widely in Falgwian to link particles as outlined above as well as titles. It is also used as in English to indicate a pause (with either a dash or an em-dash). Falgwian uses the dash to indicate a change in speaker when no quotation marks are present, and finally, Falgwian uses a dash or em-dash to indicate two zeros in a price.

Capital letters in Falgwian are used for all proper nouns excluding titles (capitals are not used for language, nationality, country names, etc. though they are used for cities). Capitals are also used for acronyms and titles of publications (except insignificant words such as ei (this is almost exactly the same as the same practice in English)). Up until a spelling reform in the early in 1960s, Falgwian also used to capitalise all nouns, however today this practice is no longer accepted as a standard.

Telling Time

Ha is a word used to tell time.

Ha dana.

It is one o'clock.

Ha dana ei lamana.

It is one thirteen.

No words for noon, midnight, etc.

Always use the 24:00 clock.

Hour- Hane (is the origin of ha) (Ha is also used as hrs in English ie. 24ha 24hrs)

Minute- Tyme

Second- Dyne

No words for quarter past, ten after, etc.

N.B. Ha is pronounced /ha/ not /a/.

Also remember, Ko dana tyme- One minute ago

Expressing Age

To express age in Falgwian use the expression:

Ko ha walana-wydu.

I am 22 years old.

The expression is very idiomatic, and needs to be memorised as such. To express the past, use a past particle after ko according to particle supremacy. To ask how old someone is use ko plus the appropiate nominative genitive pronoun:

Ko nywa?

Writing A Letter

Ko ty-Smith

Dear Mr. Smith

(Ko is used for letters or presents to mean to someone. "From" is name-wydu)

For Sincerely use thank you, Maleir-na

Patronymic Naming System in Falgwian

Falgwian has a patronymic naming system. It works as follows:

Dadywei Tykonasai has a son named Ty. Ty's last name is then Dadywai. If he has a daughter named Kwiny, her name is Kwiny Dadywai.

So, for example:

Falgwia Press Officer Kwiny Gwamai is the son of Gwamei Hwynitai and Kuly Namonai. Kwiny's husband is Tomaskei Gryzbowskai (from former Polish name Tomasz Gryzbowsky), their kids are Tynei Tomaskai and Lywany Tomaskai. Foreign names can be incorporated into last names, however this is not commonly done. Usually, only ethnic Flagwians opt to follow the patronymic naming system.

Also note:

Ty-Tynai

Tei-Teinai

Common Phrases and Expressions

Hello- Hywi or Hei or Hai

How are you?- Hwog nadysiem-na (nywi)?

Good- Medy

Bad- Tedy

I am good- Nadysier-wa (ha) medy

Thank you- Maleir-na (ha)

Goodbye- Mywasim or Mywa

My name is...:

Formal: I call myself...- Hwyfanair-wo (ha)...

Informal: Call me...- Hwyfanai-wa...

What is your name?- Hwar hwyfanait-no (lit: What do you call yourself?)

I am from...- War (ha) ___-wydu (Kind of idiomatic)

Yes- Ka

No- Wi