Hervenish Language

The official language of the Hervenum Empire, modeled mainly on Latin and Greek. Currently used rarely, for the so-called common language. However, it can be found in all sorts of old texts.

## Spelling and pronunciation

A - [ɑ]
B - [b]
C - [k], but before "e" and "i" like [ts]. Before "i", "e", "v", “w”, "y", “z” and sometimes before “s” sound [k] is expressed by "q".
CH - [tʃ]
D - [d]
E - [e]
F - [f]
G - [g]
GH - [dʒ]
H - [h]
I - [i] (causes softening only after "n", it is never asyllabic)
J - [ʒ]
K - [x] (meaning soundless [h])
L - [l]
M - [m]
N - [n]
NY - [ɲ] (a sound bonded with "ñ" in Spanish)
O - [ɔː]
P - [p]
Q - [k] (used only before "e", 'i "," v ", “w”, " y ", “z”, sometimes before “s”)
R - [r]
S - [s]
SH - [ʃ]
T - [t]
TZ - [ts]
U - [u] (never asyllabic)
V - [v]
W - [w]
X - [ks] (note: if the letters "c" and "s" or "q" and "s" follow each other as a result of combining two different morphemes to which they belong, then the resulting sound [ks] is not written with the letter "x", only with the double character" qs")
Y - [j]
Z - [z]
If the change would cause that a given letter or two-character would start to have a different voice, then it should be replaced with a different one.

In case the combined words would be too difficult to pronounce, put the letter "-e-" between them (e.g. "opsum" - "eye", "vitrum" - "glass", "opsevitrums" - "glasses" ).
If a combination or variation of words would produce an undesirable double character that would change the pronunciation (sometimes even meaning), a hyphen must be used.

## Grammar

### Syntax

The sequence of words in the sentence is basically arbitrary - but the article must always be before the noun (or before the adjective or adverb, or it may not be there at all), and the default word order is: "SVO" - "Subject-Verb -Object". There is also a difference between the order "adjective-noun" and "noun-adjective" - ​​the first is the default, but the second is usually used when the relationship between the adjective and noun is closer than in the first case, very often metaphorical. The order "noun-adjective" is usually used in scientific terms or to aspire to a higher style of expression.

#### Definite (Orezishtals)

Los - male
La - female
Lon - common
Lum - neuter
(also before adverbs)

#### Indefinite (Nonorezishtals)

Unos - male
Una - female
Una - female
Unum - neuter (also before adverbs)

### Noun (Substantivum)

#### Numbers (Numerums)

We form the plural with the ending "-s", and if the pronunciation "s" would be too difficult, the ending is "-es" (with some exceptions, like the first person plural of the present tense).

#### Genders

There are four grammatical genders: male with the ending "-os", female - "-a", neuter - "-um", and common - "-on".

The masculine gender is given to nouns that mean male beings (e.g. "viros" - "male"), female - known female (e.g. "fema" - "female"), neuter - asexual objects and beings, especially inanimated objects (e.g. "montum" - "mountain") and common (on Earth occurring e.g. in Swedish, Danish or Dutch) - to unknown sex beings (e.g. "antropon" - "human"), as well as androgynes, like most of plants.

#### Cases (Casums)

 There are six cases - nominative (nominativum), genitive (genivum), dative (dativum), accusative (acuzativum), ablative ("ablativum", used to express being the instrumentplace or subject, as well as answer the questions: "From whom? From what?", so is sometimes called "derivative") and vocative (vocativum).

Nom. Viros Vires
Gen. Viris Virises
Dat. Viromt Viromtes
Acc. Virom Viroms
Abl. Viroyd Viroydes
Voc. Viri! Viries!

Nom. Fema Femas
Gen. Femaz Femazes
Dat. Femar Femars
Acc. Femam Femams
Abl. Femad Femades
Voc. Femomd! Femomdes!

Nom. Antropon Antropons
Gen. Antropez Antropezes
Dat. Antropel Antropels
Acc. Antropim Antropims
Abl. Antropem Antropems
Voc. Antropemt! Antropemtes!

Nom. Montum Montums
Gen. Montuems Montuemses
Dat. Montuol Montuols
Acc. Montun Montuns
Abl. Montut Montutes
Voc. Montux! Montuxes!

### Verb (Verbum)

#### Present tense (Kronum nuncal):

##### Singular:

Mu esto - I am
Tu estesht - you are
Lu/Qyu/Wu/Yu/Hu estet - he / she / it (common type) / it (neuter type) is / (one) is
Ezu/Esu estot - you are, sir/madame

##### Plural:

Nu estoes - we are
Vu esteshtes - you are
Eyu/Ilu/Elu/Iyu estetes - they / they (feminine) / they (common) / they (neuter) are
Gu/Ghu/Igu estotes - gentlemen / ladies / ladies and gentlemen are

#### Past tense (Kronum pretrenghal):

##### Singular

Mu estosh
Tu estesch
Lu/Qyu/Wu/Yu/Hu estech
Ezu/Esu estomch

##### Plural:

Nu estoshes
Vu esteshtes
Eyu/Ilu/Elu/Iyu esteches
Gu/Ghu/Igu estomches

#### Future tense (Kronum futural):

##### Singular:

Mu estoyz
Tu estestz
Lu/Qyu/Wu/Yu/Hu estetz
Ezu/Esu estomtz

##### Plural:

Nu estoyzes
Vu estesces
Eyu/Ilu/Elu/Iyu esteces
Gu/Ghu/Igu estomces

#### Imperative (Emclum dyatagendal, literally: “commanding mode”):

##### Singular:

Mu estor
Tu esterst
Lu/Qyu/Wu/Yu/Hu estert
Ezu/Esu estormt

##### Plural:

Nu estors
Vu esterstes
Eyu/Ilu/Elu/Iyu estertes
Gu/Ghu/Igu estormtes

#### Conditional (Emclum finxendal, literally: “supposing mode”):

##### Singular

Mu estol
Tu estelst
Lu/Qyu/Wu/Yu/Hu estelt Ezu/Esu estolmt

##### Plural

Nu estols
Vu estelstes
Eyu/Ilu/Elu/Iyu esteltes
Gu/Ghu/Igu estolmtes

#### Participles (Participums):

* "-end-" - present participle, present tense
* "-engh-" - present participle, past tense
* "-enz-" - present participle, future tense
* "-it-" - past participle, present tense
* "-isht-" - past participle, past tense
* "-ich-" - past participle, future tense

#### Compound tenses:

* Present perfect (but it’s generally used to express the past)- auxiliary verb “to be” in the present tense + main verb in the past active adjectival participle (eg “Agir” - “to do”, “Mu esto agenghal” - “I did/I have done”);
* Past Perfect (Plusqvamperfectal) - the auxiliary verb “to be” in the past tense + the main verb in the past active adjectival participle (eg “Agir” - “to do”, “Mu estosh agenghal” - “I had done”;
* Future Perfect - auxiliary verb “to have” in the future tense + main verb in the past active adjectival participle (eg “Agir” - “to do”, “Mu estoyz agenghal” - “I will have done”)

### Adjective (Adyectivum)

It can be recognized by the ending "-al" in the singular nominative.

#### Variation by cases:

Benal - good
Nom. Benal Benals
Gen. Benalz Benalzes
Dat. Benalt Benaltes
Acc. Benaln Benalnes
Abl. Benald Benaldes
Voc. Benali! Benalies!

#### Gradation (Gradatzum):

Benal - good
Plus benal - better
Lum plim benal - the best

#### Gradation:

Bene - well
Plus bene - better
Lum plim bene - best

#### Numerals (Numernomums)

0 - Nul
1 - Uno
2 - Duo
3 - Trio
4 - Tetre
5 - Penti
6 - Hix
7 - Sept
8 - Okt
9 - Nen
10 - Detz
100 - Hect
1000 - Qil

The names of the other numerals are created agglutinatively, e.g. "detz uno" - "11"; "detz duo" - "12", "duodetz" - "20" etc.
The powers of amillion (e.g., "millionum" - "million", "miliardum" - "billion") are formally nouns.

### Pronouns (Pronomums)

#### Personal

##### Singular

Mu - I
Tu - you (only singular)
Lu - he
Qyu - she
Wu - it/they (common, singular)
Yu - ono (neuter)
Ezu - sir (male formal version of singular “you”)
Esu - madame (female formal version of singular “you”)

##### Plural

Nu - we
Vu - you
Eyu - they (male)
Ilu - they (female)
Elu - they (common)
Iyu - they (neuter)
Gu - gentlemen (male formal version of plural “you”)
Ghu - ladies  (female formal version of plural “you”)
Igu - ladies and gentlemen (common formal version of plural “you”)

##### Others

* Hu - one (indefinite pronoun used in impersonal constructions, such as "one can", “one must ","one should"; verbs with this pronoun change the same as in the third person singular)
Su - oneself (reflexive pronoun)
* All personal pronouns have the same declination as adjectives.

## Glossary (Lexatulum):

Legend:

* (n) - noun
* (v) - verb
* (adj) - adjective
* (adv) - adverb

## Affixes (Cumfixums)

Hervenish language is essentially an agglutinative language, so new words are largely kept together by sticking together the old ones, especially by using prefixes and suffixes:

### Prefixes (Prefixums)

* "arch-" - arch- (e.g. "ministros" - "minister", "archministros" - "prime minister")
* "des-" - removing something, an opposite
* "dis-" - incorrect (e.g. "awdir" - "hear", "disawdir" - "mishear")
* "diz-" - division, acting in different directions (e.g. "darir" - "give", "dizdarir" - "give away")
* "ex-" - former
* "mal-" - moral condemnation
* "prey-" - putting the details together (e.g. "laborir" - "to work", "preylaborir" - "to elaborate")
* "prim-" - primordial (e.g. "patros" - "father", "primpatros" - "grandfather")
* "ri-" - again (e.g. "scribir" - "write", "riscribir" - "rewrite")

### Suffixes (Stafixums):

* "-ac-" - bad quality, ugliness (e.g. "domum" - "house", "domacum" - "shanty")
* "-ad-" - an item with a feature
* "-alv-" - a container for something, a vessel, a cloth (e.g. "manum" - "hand", "manalvum" - "glove")
* "-an-" - member, resident, oxygen acid salt (e.g. "sulfum" - sulfur, "sulfanum" - "sulfate")
* "-ar-" - place (e.g. "librum" - "book", "librarum" - "library")
* "-ark-" - administrator (e.g. "urbum" - "city", "urbarkon" - "mayor")
* "-artz-" - a part of something (e.g. "vingum" - "chain", "vingartzum" - "a link", "a nexus")
* "-at-" - collection (e.g. "dendron" - "tree", "dendraton" - "forest")
* "-atz-" - activity, especially if it lasts longer, often also the imperfect aspect
* "-ax-" - inclined to something (e.g. "vorir" - "to eat", "voraxal" - "gluttonous")
* "-ay-" - high intensity (e.g. "termal" - "warm"; "termayal" - "hot")
* "-ef-" - to produce, to emit something (e.g. "sangvum" - "blood", "sangvefir" - "to bleed")
* "-em-" - fraction (e. g. "duo" - "two", "duoemum" - "half")
* "-emd-" - necessary to be done
* "-er-" - tool
* "-imn-" - logarithms, number systems ("detz" - "ten", "detzimnal" - "decimal"), and also generally converts qualitative and relational adjectives to the possesive one’s (e.g. "termal" - "warm", "termimnal" - "of the heat", "heat-related", e.g. "gradum termimnal" - "heat degree").
* "-ibl-" - suitable for something (e.g. "lectir" - "read", "lectiblal" - "readable")
* "-id-" - young individual, child (e.g. "cinon" - "dog", "cinidon" - "puppy"), as well as an anaerobic acid salt (e.g. "sulfum" - "sulfur", "sulfidum" - "sulfide")
* "-if-" - become (e.g. "magnal" - "large", "magnifir" - "to grow")
* "-ign-" - worthy of something (e.g. "punir" - "to punish", "punignal" - "shameful")
* "-ij-" - supplying something (e.g. "dendraton" - "forest", "dendratijir" - "to afforestate")
* "-ist-" - specialist, professional (e.g. "mensum" - "table", "mensiston" - "carpenter")
* "-iv-" - capable of something (eg "vidir" - "see", "vidival" - "able to see", "nonvidival" - "blind")
* "-iz-" - give characteristics (e.g. "magnal" - "large", "magnizir" - "to increase")
* "-oid-" - similar to something
* "-oj-" - full of something (e. g. "montum" - "mountain", "montojal" - "mountainous")
* "-or-" - possessor of some attributes (e.g. "plowzal" - "rich", "plowzoron" - "a rich person")
* "-otz-" - kill by something, somehow (e.g. "litum" - "stone", "litocir" - "to lapidate")
* "-oz-" - disease (e.g. "frigal" - "cold", "frigozum" - "a cold"; "zucarum" - "sugar", "zucarozum" - "diabetes")
* "-ud-" - feature (e.g. "acral" - "tall", "high", "acrudum" - "height", " tallness")
* "-ul-" - low intensity, diminutive (e.g. "dendron" - "tree", "dendrulon" - "tree"), in combination with the suffix "-an-" forms the names of salts of acids that are not of the highest oxidation state (e.g. "sulfum" - "sulfur", "sulfanulum" - "sulfite")
* "-upl-" - multiple (e.g. "duo" - "two", "duouplal" - double ")

## Chosen sentences (Elgishtals protazums):

Mu esto antropem et nunum, qvum estet antropal, non estet mut xenal.
Oyqvun tu facesht, facerst prude et bleperst lum finun.
Dural yurum, sed yurum
Lum lexum egvolet lon paserem, cay riftanet lon bovem.
Salvormt, Cezari! Lon mortenzons ceretoes Ezun!