View source for Borish language

{{wip}}
{{Infobox language
| name             = Borish language
| nativename       = ''Borishe spreake, borishe spraak''
| image            =
| imagesize        = <!-- or image_size -->
| imagealt         =
| imagecaption     =
| pronunciation    = [ˈbɔːɾɪʃə ˈspɾɛːkə/ˈspɾɑːk(ə)]
| states           = parts of [[Borland (Kylaris)|Borland]]
| speakers         = {{circa|4.8 million}}
| date             =
| dateprefix       =
| ref              = <!-- up to e21 (or current edition) if ref is ''Ethnologue'' -->
| refname          =
| speakers2        = {{circa|2 million}}
| familycolor = Indo-European
| fam1 = [[wikipedia:Indo-European|Euclean]]
| fam2 = [[wikipedia:Germanic languages|Nordano-Weranic]]
| fam3 = [[wikipedia:West Germanic languages|Weranic]]
| standards        = 
| stand1           = Rÿkshuis standard Borish
| stand2           = Helman standard Borish
| dialects         =
| listclass        =
| dia1             =
| dia2             = <!-- up to dia20 -->
| script           = Borish alphabet ([[wikipedia:Latin script|Solarian script]])
| sign             = 
| nation           = {{flagicon|Borland (Kylaris)}} [[Borland (Kylaris)|Borland]]<br>''[[Euclean Community]]''
| minority         =
| agency           = Rÿkshuis Institute for the Borish language (of the Linguistic Faculty of the [[Newstead|University of Newstead]]), ''advisory''
| iso1             = bo
| iso1comment      =
| iso2             = bor
| iso2b            =
| iso2t            =
| iso2comment      =
| iso3             = bor
| iso3comment      =
| map              =
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| map2             =
| mapalt2          =
| mapcaption2      =
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| pushpin_image    =
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| coordinates      = <!-- use {{Coord}} -->
| module           =
| notice           = IPA
}}

The '''Borish language''' ([[wikipedia:Help:IPA/English|/ˈbɔːrɪʃ/]]; natively: ''borishe spreake'', ''borishe spraak''/''sprake'' or just ''borish'' {{IPA|[ˈbɔːɾɪʃ]}}) is a [[wikipedia:Language|language]] belonging to its own branch within the [[wikipedia:West Germanic languages|Weranic languages]]. It is the primary official language of [[Borland (Kylaris)|Borland]], where it is spoken predominantly in the [[wikipedia:Province|yends]] of [[North Hethland]], [[Maynes-Yord]] and [[Midlands]] as well as parts of [[Lowlands-South Hethland]]. Outside of Borland, Borish is also spoken by communities in [[Azmara]], [[Estmere]] and, to a lesser extent, [[Werania]]. It is also one of the official languages of the [[Euclean Community]].<br>The language has a long [[wikipedia:Literary language|written history]], dating back to the early [[wikipedia:Middle Ages|mediæval period]], although there was a general decline of the language under pressure of the [[wikipedia:English language|Estmerish language]] starting in the mid-17<small><sup>th</sup></small> century, with the written language largely having vanished by the latter half of the 18<small><sup>th</sup></small> century. A revival of the Borish language started in the late 19<small><sup>th</sup></small> century. With the [[1936 Borish independence referendum|independence of Borland]] from [[Estmere]] after the [[Great War (Kylaris)|Great War]], Borish again rose to a language of politics and literature.<br>The main [[wikipedia:Dialect|dialect groups]] of Borish are South Hethlandic, North Hethlandic (divided into inland and coastal), Maynes Borish, Yordic, Outhallside Borish and Midlandic, the primary difference being slightly different phonological features, some regional vocabulary and, to a lesser extent, the preference for some grammatical constructions over others. The spoken standard of Borish is based on the dialect of [[Outhall]].

== Classification ==

Borish is usually [[wikipedia:Language classification|classified]] as belonging to its own branch of the [[wikipedia:West Germanic languages|Weranic languages]]. Historically, it was often seen as belonging to the [[wikipedia:Anglo-Frisian languages|Estmero-Azmaran]] branch, although this is disputed due to the absense of some major features shared by all (other) Estmero-Azmaran languages, most prominently the [[wikipedia:Palatalization|palatalization]] of historic {{IPA|/k/}} and {{IPA|/ɡ/}} (compare Borish ''dagh'' with Estmerish ''day'' or Borish ''brigge'' to Estmerish ''bridge'').<br>Whilst it was, historically, often argued that Borish is a dialect of Estmerish that must be descended from Old Estmerish and that split during the Middle Estmerish period, as Modern Borish and Middle Borish are remarkably similar in many ways, the fact that Old Borish writings are much more similar to Middle Estmerish and Modern Borish (and at times, in fact, to Modern Estmerish) than to Old Estmerish speaks against that.

== History ==

The question of where Old Borish, Middle Borish and Modern Borish start and end, respectively, is very blurry, as the Borish language has remained very conservative since its split from the other Weranic languages, with Old Borish still being largely intelligible to modern speakers, both in its written and spoken forms. The general consensus is that the Old Borish period spans from before the first written record of Borish until the unification of the [[Borish Kingdom (Kylaris)|Borish Kingdom]] in the 1050s, as it correlates with an explosion of Borish-language literature which had previously been sparse as well as with the change of certain common spellings through the standardization of the language. Middle Borish would then go on to be the written standard between around 1050 and the decline of Borish literature and identity during the beginning of the [[wikipedia:Personal union|personal union]] with [[Estmere]], starting around 1650 and being mostly finalized by around 1720. With Modern Borish only being considered a language in its own right again by the early 20<small><sup>th</sup></small> century, with an official standard only being introduced in 1937, the general time frame between the end of Middle Borish and the beginning of Modern Borish was characterized by a blend of Middle Borish and contemporary Estmerish spelling conventions and is often referred to as intermediary Borish or transitional Borish.<br>Upon [[1936 Borish independence referendum|Independnece]], only about 24% of Borish claimed to speak primarily Borish, although 39% claimed it to be their native language.

=== Standardization ===

The standardization of Borish orthography was officially discussed and decided upon in 1936, with two main orthographies having many proponents: the conservative standard of the ''Rÿkshuis Borish Dictionary'' and the more reformative ''Helman standard''. Among the deciding elites, the former was preferred, although it was altered in the official orthography, for example by adding the letter ⟨þ⟩, choosing the digraph ⟨hv⟩ over ⟨wh⟩ or ⟨hw⟩ and completely removing the letter ⟨j⟩ as it was not used at all within the frameworks of Borish orthography.<br>In a 1940 spelling reform, the letter ⟨x⟩ and the digraph ⟨qu⟩ were replaced with the trigraph ⟨cks⟩ (e.g. ''fox'' or ''box'' being changed to ''fucks'' and ''bocks'') and the digraph ⟨kv⟩ (e.g. ''quale'' being changed to ''kvale''), respectively, in native words and words loaned from other Weranic languages. Following this, the only thing officially changing within Borish spelling itself was the digraph ⟨qu⟩ being changed to ⟨qv⟩ in analogy to ⟨kv⟩ and ⟨hv⟩.

==== Rÿkshuis Standard ====

The Rÿkshuis standard is based on the writing conventions and rules found in the works of pre-independence Borish author and politician [[Yoghen Rÿnman]] with features like a greater number of [[wikipedia:German language|Weranian]] loan words and grammatical structures as well as Borish archaïcisms being (re)introduced. A prominent feature found in texts adhering closely to the Rÿkshuis standard is the similarity to [[wikipedia:German grammar|Weranian declension]] rules on both indefinite and definite articles (''an(er)''/''ane''/''an(et)'' and ''þer''/''þe''/''/þet'') and adjectives, including the partial presence of [[wikipedia:Grammatical gender|grammatical gender]] (compare the phrase ''ein großes Haus'' with ''an(et) greatet hus'').

==== Helman Standard ====

The Helman standard is based on the spoken language of Borland. As such, declension is largely limited to verbs and nouns, with adjectives having two forms (for some writers merely one) and articles showing no declension at all.<br>Additionally, the pre-1936 Helman standard featured the complete removal of the letters C, X and Z as well as the digraphs QU, PH, RH and TH, as these were only used in loan words. In this regard, it followed the Rÿkshuis standard closely after 1936.

=== Current Situation ===

During the middle and the latter half of the 20<small><sup>th</sup></small> century, the situation of the Borish language has stabilized, the language now being spoken natively by around 4.8 million (ca. 68%) people within Borland itself, with a further 20,000 to 30,000 speakers in [[Azmara]] and an unknown number of speakers in both [[Estmere]] and [[Werania]], largely from [[wikipedia:Emigration|emigration]] during the last century. According to some estimates, there might be as many as 5.5 million native speakers of Borish [[Kylaris|worldwide]], although more conservative estimates put the number closer to 5 million. The number of L2 speakers in Borland is estimated to be at around 2 million (with varying levels of competence), with no data on L2 speakers outside of Borland.<br>In parts of [[Westhaven]] and across many parts of [[Norland]] (especially in [[Stunhill]]), where the majority of the population claim to speak Estmerish, there was a clear shift towards vocabulary, pronunciation and grammar more closely resembling Borish during the last decades. This resembles an earlier trend in the area around [[Ledge]] and [[Olham]], which switched from predominantly Estmerish to predominantly Borish between the 1960s and 1990s in a similar manner.<br>Contemporary Borish, both informal and formal, is characterized by a mix of both the Rÿkshuis and the Helman standards. To some extent, this has been “loaned into” the spoken forms of Borish, such as the widespread usage of not only universal ''þe'', but rather singular ''þer''/''þe''/''/þet''.

== Phonology ==

=== Consonants ===

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
|-
|+ Consonant phonemes of Borish
!
! colspan="2" | [[wikipedia:Labial consonant|Labial]]
! colspan="2" | [[wikipedia:Interdental consonant|Dental]]
! colspan="2" | [[wikipedia:Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
! colspan="2" | [[wikipedia:Postalveolar consonant|Post-<br/>alveolar]]
! colspan="2" | [[wikipedia:Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
! colspan="2" | [[wikipedia:Velar consonant|Velar]]
! colspan="2" | [[wikipedia:Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
! [[wikipedia:Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
| style="border-right: 0;" | || style="border-left: 0;" | {{IPA|m}}
| colspan="2" |
| style="border-right: 0;" | || style="border-left: 0;" | {{IPA|n}}
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
| style="border-right: 0;" | || style="border-left: 0;" | {{IPA|ŋ}}
| colspan="2" |
|-
! [[wikipedia:Plosive consonant|Plosive]]
| style="border-right: 0;" | {{IPA|p}} || style="border-left: 0;" | {{IPA|b}}
| colspan="2" |
| style="border-right: 0;" | {{IPA|t}} || style="border-left: 0;" | {{IPA|d}}
| style="border-right: 0;" |  || style="border-left: 0;" | 
| colspan="2" |
| style="border-right: 0;" | {{IPA|k}} || style="border-left: 0;" | {{IPA|ɡ}}
| colspan="2" |
|-
! [[wikipedia:Fricative consonant|Fricative]]
| style="border-right: 0;" | {{IPA|f}} || style="border-left: 0;" | {{IPA|v}}
| style="border-right: 0;" | {{IPA|θ}} || style="border-left: 0;" |
| style="border-right: 0;" | {{IPA|s}} || style="border-left: 0;" | ''{{IPA|z}}''
| style="border-right: 0;" | {{IPA|ʃ}} || style="border-left: 0;" | ''{{IPA|ʒ}}''
| colspan="2" |
| style="border-right: 0;" | ''{{IPA|x}}'' || style="border-left: 0;" | {{IPA|ɣ}}
| style="border-right: 0;" | {{IPA|h}} || style="border-left: 0;" |
|-
! [[wikipedia:Affricate consonant|Affricate]]
| style="border-right: 0;" |  || style="border-left: 0;" | 
| colspan="2" |
| style="border-right: 0;" | {{IPA|ts}} || style="border-left: 0;" |
| style="border-right: 0;" | {{IPA|tʃ}} || style="border-left: 0;" | {{IPA|dʒ}}
| colspan="2" |
| style="border-right: 0;" |  || style="border-left: 0;" | 
| colspan="2" |  
|-
! [[wikipedia:Rhotic consonant|Rhotic]]
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
| style="border-right: 0;" | || style="border-left: 0;" | {{IPA|r}}
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
|-
! [[wikipedia:Approximant consonant|Approximant]]
| style="border-right: 0;" | || style="border-left: 0;" | {{IPA|w}}
| colspan="2" |
| style="border-right: 0;" | || style="border-left: 0;" | {{IPA|l}}
| colspan="2" |
| style="border-right: 0;" | || style="border-left: 0;" | {{IPA|j}}
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
|}

Following a stressed open syllable with a short vowel, the consonants {{IPA|/m n  b d g p t k s l/}} are geminated by many speakers, including in the standard variety. However, this phenomenon is less common for {{IPA|/m b d g/}} than for the other sounds. In most instances, this correlates with the doubling of the respective consonant in spelling.

The Borish [[wikipedia:Rhotic consonant|rhotic]] which is commonly transcribed with the symbol ⟨/r/⟩ most commonly is pronounced as an [[wikipedia:Alveolar tap|alveolar tap]] {{IPA|[ɾ]}}, with a true [[wikipedia:Alveolar trill|alveolar trill]] {{IPA|[r]}} being a rare variant. Another common variant is the [[wikipedia:Alveolar approximant]] {{IPA|[ɹ]}} which is used by some speakers across the country in free variation with the tap, although it is the most common pronunciation around [[Yord]], along parts of the border with [[Azmara]] and in South Hethland. A somewhat rarer allophone is the [[wikipedia:Retroflex approximant|retroflex approximant]] {{IPA|[ɻ]}}, which is usually found in syllable-final position in coastal Hethlandic dialects, which otherwise use a tap or an alveolar approximant.<br>Syllable-final /r/-dropping is a very widespread phenomenon in all dialects of Borish. Although it can be compared to rhotic and non-rhotic Estmerish, its occurence is much more inconsistent in Borish.

The [[wikipedia:Lateral consonant|lateral]] of Borish comes in two varieties: a plain alveolar lateral {{IPA|[l]}} and a velarized lateral {{IPA|[ɫ]}}. For some speakers, the latter occurs only in syllable-final position, though many speakers at least sometimes velarize the /l/ sound intervocalically. A minority of speakers only have the unvelarized /l/.

It is disputed whether or not {{IPA|/x/}} and {{IPA|/ɣ/}} really count as two separate phonemes, as they occur in [[wikipedia:Complementary distribution|complementary distribution]] with only few exceptions. Whilst the [[wikipedia:Voiceless velar fricative|voiceless velar fricative]] occurs at the start of words, before voiceless consonants and between vowels if it is in the onset of a stressed syllable, the  [[wikipedia:Voiced velar fricative|voiced velar fricative]] occurs at the end of words (sometimes devoiced to /x/), between vowels in unstressed syllables or if following a stressed syllable and, for some speakers, before most voiced consonants.<br>Exceptions to this rule are usually loan words, such as ''blech'' {{IPA|[ˈblɛx]}} or ''loch'' {{IPA|[ˈlɔx]}}. In fact, outside of dialectal borrowings and loan words, {{IPA|[x]}} only occurs between vowels and voiceless consonants (e.g. ''light'' {{IPA|[ˈlixt]}}), where it could also be analysed as underlying {{IPA|/ɣ/}} which got devoiced.

The [[wikipedia:Voiced alveolar fricative|voiced alveolar fricative]] {{IPA|[z]}} is not usually analysed as phonemic, but rather an allophone of the [[wikipedia:Voiceless alveolar fricative|voiceless alveolar fricative]] {{IPA|/s/}} in intervocalic positions. Some speakers pronounce the letter ⟨z⟩ in loan words as {{IPA|[z]}}, although this is usually regarded as a case of [[wikipedia:Spelling pronunciation|spelling pronunciation]].<br>For a small set of speakers, this is, arguably, contrastive, although intervocalic {{IPA|[s]}} for these speakers usually is {{IPA|[sː~s.s]}} in standard Borish.<br>Similar to this, some speakers voice intervocalic {{IPA|/θ/}} to {{IPA|[ð]}}, although this never is contrastive. For some speakers, both of these allophones can also occasionally occur in other positions, such as word-finally if the following word starts with a vowel (e.g. ''is et daan?'' {{IPA|[ˌɪz‿ət ˈdɑːn]}} “is it done?”).

All [[wikipedia:Affricate consonant|affricates]] occur primarily in loan words and are realized as [[wikipedia:Fricative|fricatives]] by some speakers. Similarly, {{IPA|/ʒ/}} also occurs only in loan words (e.g. ''garazhe'' “garage” or ''zheel'' “gélé”), merging with its [[wikipedia:Voiceless postalveolar fricative|voiceless equivalent]] for some speakers.

In the common clustrers {{IPA|/kw/}} and {{IPA|/hw/}}, the {{IPA|/w/}} commonly is somewhat or fully fricated, leading to the characteristic {{IPA|[kf]}} or {{IPA|[xw~xf]}} clusters.

=== Vowels ===

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Vowel phonemes of Borish
!
![[wikipedia:Front vowel|Front]]
![[wikipedia:Central vowel|Central]]
![[wikipedia:Back vowel|Back]]
|-
!style="text-align: left;" | [[wikipedia:Close vowel|Close]]
| iː i~ɪ •  yː
| 
| uː u~ʊ
|-
!style="text-align: left;" | [[wikipedia:Close-mid vowel|Close-mid]]
| e eː
| ɘ
| o oː
|-
!style="text-align: left;" | {{wpl|Mid vowel|Mid}}
| 
| ə
| 
|-
!style="text-align: left;" | [[wikipedia:Open-mid vowel|Open-mid]]
| ɛ ɛː
| 
| ɔ ɔː
|-
!style="text-align: left;" | [[wikipedia:Open vowel|Open]]
| 
| 
| ɑ ɑː
|}

The vowels of Borish can be divided into short and long vowels and can be analysed either as {{IPA|/ɪ ʊ ɘ ə ɛ ɔ ɑ/}} and {{IPA|/iː yː uː eː øː oː ɛː ɔː ɑː/}}, respectively. In unstressed syllables, long vowels are pronounced as short vowels (e.g. ''automobil'' {{IPA|/ˈaʊ̯toːmoːˌbiːl/}} {{IPA|[ˈaʊ̯tomoˌbiə̯ɫ]}}).

Both short high vowels of Borish, {{IPA|/ɪ/}} and {{IPA|/ʊ/}}, can be lax {{IPA|[ɪ ʊ]}} or tense {{IPA|[i u]}}, depending on the speaker and the dialect, often occuring in more or less free variation. The tense realization of these vowels is a feature that is mostly associated with the dialects of [[Outhall]] and [[Newstead]] and is often associated with a higher register, eventhough it is much more widespread than that.

The central vowels {{IPA|/ɘ/}} and {{IPA|/ə/}} occur in complementary distribution, with {{IPA|/ə/}} occuring in unstressed syllables and {{IPA|/ɘ/}} in stressed positions. In colloquial Borish, {{IPA|/ɪ/}} and {{IPA|/ɘ/}} often merge.

The vowels {{IPA|/eː/}} and {{IPA|/oː/}} undergo [[wikipedia:Vowel breaking|breaking]] to {{IPA|[eɪ̯~ɛɪ̯]}} and {{IPA|[oʊ̯~ɔʊ̯]}} in most coastal dialects in some words, whilst being raised to {{IPA|[iː]}} and {{IPA|[uː]}}, respectively, in some of them. Geographically unrelated, a similar sound change occurs for some speakers in [[Stunhill]], just with a more centralized {{IPA|[ʉː]}}. Orthographically, this is represented by a single letter ⟨e⟩ or ⟨o⟩ in contrast to two letters ⟨ee⟩ or ⟨oo⟩.

For almost all speakers, the vowels {{IPA|/eː øː oː/}} are lowered to {{IPA|[ɛː œː ɔː]}} before coda-{{IPA|/r/}}, with some speakers extending this to {{IPA|/l/}}. Oftentimes, this comes with a more or less noticeable diphtonization (e.g. ''stool'' {{IPA|[ˈstoə̯ɫ]}}), although the diphthongization of vowels before liquids is also present with other vowels.

Across Borish dialects, {{IPA|/a/}} varies between a front {{IPA|[a]}}, a centre {{IPA|[ä]}} and a back {{IPA|[ɑ]}}. Generally, the closer one moves to the Estmerish border, the more {{IPA|/a/}} is a front vowel, and the closer one moves to the Azmaran border, the more it is a back vowel.

== Orthography ==

=== Alphabet ===

Borish is almost exclusively written using an [[wikipedia:English language|Estmerish-based]] [[wikipedia:Latin script|Solarian alphabet]], though occasional instances of other [[wikipedia:Writing system|writing systems]] being used to write the language can be observed within some social circles. Most texts nowadays use an alphabet consisting of 28 letters (the 26 letters that are also found in the Estmerish alphabet, except for j, but with the addition of the letters Ë, Þ and Ÿ), though older texts often used ⟨i⟩ and/or ⟨e⟩ where modern texts use ⟨ë⟩, with ⟨ei/ey⟩ abd ⟨th⟩ having been a common replacement for ⟨ÿ⟩ and ⟨þ⟩, respectively. Some texts use ⟨æ⟩ and ⟨œ⟩ (sometimes represented by the digraphs ⟨ae⟩ and ⟨oe⟩, respectively) in loan words and some dialectal vocabulary, although their usage is not widespread. It has to be noted that Y is sorted in dictionaries where J would be sorted in other languages. Thus, the Borish alphabet goes as follows: A B C D E Ë F G H I Y Ÿ K L M N O P Q R S T Þ U V W X Z.

Additionally, the letters ⟨à⟩ and ⟨ç⟩ are used in limited circumstances in Borish, although they are treated as variants of the letters ⟨a⟩ and ⟨c⟩, respectively. While ⟨ç⟩ is at least somewhat widespread, being used for {{IPA|/s/}} in loan words of [[wikipedia:Latin|Solarian]] origin where otherwise, Borish spelling would suggest {{IPA|/k/}}, the letter ⟨à⟩ is only used in one native word (''àn'' “at, on, towards”) in order to distinguish it from a homonym (''an'' “a”). Besides that, it is occasionally used for measurements as in Estmerish.

There are a multitude of digraphs that are used in the Borish language. These include vowel digraphs for long vowels (''aa'', ''ee'', ''ea'', ''oo'', ''oa'', ''ou'', ''ui'') and for diphthongs (''ai'', ''au'', ''ei'', ''eu'', ''ie'', ''oi'', ''ow''). At the end of words and between vowels, the ⟨i⟩ and ⟨u⟩ get respelled to ⟨y⟩ and ⟨w⟩, respectively (thus ''ai'', ''au'', ''ei'', ''eu'', ''oi'', ''ui'' → ''ay'', ''aw'', ''ey'', ''ew'', ''oy'', ''uy''). This does not apply to ''ou'' and ''ow'', as these represent different sounds ({{IPA|/uː/}} and {{IPA|/ɔʊ̯/}}, respectively). In loan words, the diphthong {{IPA|/iə̯/}} is spelled ⟨ië⟩, while native words use the spelling ⟨ie⟩ instead.<br>The digraph ⟨ei⟩ in particular is rather rare although the sound it represents ({{IPA|/ɛɪ̯/}}) is the most common diphthong in Borish. This is because, usually, the letter ⟨ÿ⟩ is used for this sound. However, when ⟨ÿ⟩ is not available or to cumbersome to type, ⟨ei⟩ is used as a substitute digraph. The same goes for ⟨þ⟩ and ⟨th⟩.

The digraph ⟨dg⟩ and the trigraph ⟨tch⟩ are used for the postalveolar affricates in all positions, although they are almost entirely absent from Borish with the exception of loan words. In the official spelling, it is recommended to always respell foreign words to use ⟨dg⟩ and ⟨tch⟩, although many Borish do not necessarily consistently abide to this rule (e.g. spelling ''tchillen'' and ''dgungel'' as ''chillen'' and ''jungel''). Other consonant digraphs are CH GH PH RH SH TH ZH. HV also is commonly counted as a digraph in Borish. It often is transcribed as ⟨{{IPA|/hw/}}⟩, though it can represent a variety of different sounds, depending on the dialect. These range from {{IPA|[xf]}} to {{IPA|[xv]}} and {{IPA|[hw]}} to {{IPA|[xw]}} in most dialects, which is mirrored in local Estmerish dialects. ⟨hv⟩ often corresponds to ⟨wh⟩ in Estmerish. ⟨kv⟩ is a similar digraph, represented by ⟨qv⟩ in loan words. There is no clear consensus on whether or not NG could be considered a digraph as its phonemic status is disputed.

=== Punctuation ===

[[wikipedia:Punctuation|Punctuation]] in Borish is based primarily on [[wikipedia:German lanugage|Weranian]] rules, with some exceptions. For instance, [[wikipedia:Comma|commas]] are always placed between two [[wikipedia:Clause|clauses]] except around the [[wikipedia:Conjunction|conjunctions]] ''and'' (“and”) and ''oþer'' (also spelled ''oʼar'', “or”), where their placement is optional. Similarly to [[wikipedia:English language|Estmerish]], commas are also placed after adverbial phrases of location or time.<br>The rules on [[wikipedia:Quotation mark|quotation marks]] differ slightly from Estmerish, with commas and full stops coming ''after'' the closing quotation mark rather than between the last word and the quotation mark. Double quotation marks are used for direct speech and other quotation, with single quotation marks being optional for quotation within a quotation.<br>Which quotation marks to use in Borish is not officially defined, although the consensus is that [[wikipedia:Chevron|inward-pointing guillemets]] (»…«) are the default, with [[wikipedia:Guillemet|outward-pointing guillemets]] («…») also being relatively widespread. Somewhat more rarely, Estmerish quotation marks (“…” or "…") are also used, especially in the latter form on the internet.<br>Officially, the [[wikipedia:Dash#Em dash|em dash]] (—) with a full space on both sides is used in Borish, although usage of the [[wikipedia:Dash#En dash]] (–), which officially is used only with numbers, is also common within sentences.

== Grammar ==

Being a [[wikipedia:West Germanic languages|Weranic language]], the grammar of Borish resembles that of other Weranic languages, such as [[wikipedia:English language|Estmerish]], [[Azmaran language|Azmaran]], [[wikipedia:Low German|Aldman]] or [[wikipedia:German language|Weranian]] closely in many ways.<br>The Borish language largely retained the proto-Weranic [[wikipedia:Grammatical gender|grammatical gender]] system, although its extent is lesser nowadays than in earlier forms of the language due to the collapse of the [[wikipedia:Grammatical case|grammatical case]] system since Old Borish.

=== Nouns ===

Most nouns in Borish decline for two [[wikipedia:Grammatical number|numbers]] ([[wikipedia:Singular|singular]] and [[wikipedia:Plural|plural]]). [[wikipedia:Grammatical case|Grammatical cases]] are shown primarily by means of [[wikipedia:Word order|word order]] and [[wikipedia:Preposition|prepositions]]. Though there were, historically, more cases with distinct forms, only the [[wikipedia:Genitive case|genitive]] remains, being marked with the [[wikipedia:Suffix|suffixes]] -''s'' or -''es'' (unlike Estmerish, without an [[wikipedia:Apostrophe|apostrophe]]), with the construction ''op'' + ''article'' + ''noun'' being used commonly instead.<br>With most nouns, the plural form is formed by attatching either a suffix -''(e)r'' or -''(e)n'' to the word, with -''er'' being the most common for masculine and neuter nouns and -''en'' being mostly used for feminine nouns, although there are many exceptions. Some words, however, form their plural form either by means of [[wikipedia:Umlaut|umlaut]] or by umlaut and a plural suffix (e.g. ''land''→''lender'', ''man''→''menner'' or ''stade''→''steader''), comparable to Weranian or certain words in Estmerish (e.g. ''mouse''→''mice'').

=== Pronouns ===

Borish has personal pronouns distinguishing between two numbers (singular and plural), with three persons. There are distinct gendered forms in the third person singular only, with a gender-neutral form ''ë'' existing in the colloquial spoken language and sometimes in the written language as well.<br>The impersonal pronoun is ''aner'' (the equivalent of Estmerish “one”).

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Pronouns of Borish
!colspan="2" | Person
! Nominative
! Accusative
! Genitive
|-
!rowspan="2" | 1st
! sg.
| ik
| my
| min
|-
! pl.
| wy
| uns
| unser
|-
!rowspan="2" | 2nd
! sg.
| þu
| þy
| þin
|-
! pl.
| ye
| ye
| yer
|-
!rowspan="4" | 3rd
! sg. masc.
| hë
| hëm
| hës
|-
! sg. fem.
| së
| hër
| hër
|-
! sg. neut.
| et
| et
| ets
|-
! pl.
| þey
| þeyem
| þeyer
|}

The first and second person plural pronouns have alternative forms; ''ye/yer/yer'' having the form ''yu/yur/yur'', and ''wy/uns/unser'' having the form ''wy/ons/onser''.

==== T–V distinction ====

Alongside many other Euclean languages, including some varieties of Estmerish, Borish has a [[wikipedia:T–V distinction]], with ''þu'' (cognate to Estmerish “thou”, Weranian “du” and Azmaran “þu”) and ''ye'' or ''yu'' (cognate to Estmerish “ye” and “you”, respectively, to Weranian “ihr” and to Azmnaran “ju”) being used, depending on the context. Generally, ''þu'', the original second person singular pronoun, is used amongst and towards children, among students and colleagues and among friends and family. Some speakers also use ''þu'' towards strangers in informal situations. On the other hand, ''ye'', the original second person plural pronoun, (and its alternative form ''yu'') is used when one speaks to higher-ups (e.g. teachers, bosses, customers) and strangers. Verbal conjugation also follows the personal pronouns used, with ''þu'' triggering the second person singular conjugation -''(e)st'' and ''ye''/''yu'' triggering the second person plural conjugation -''en''.<br>Many speakers differenciate between singular and plural ''ye'' by using ''ye'' exclusively in its original plural meaning and using ''yu'' for the singular (whence Borish Estmerish singular ''you'' and plural ''ye''). Additionally, singular ''ye''/''yu'' is often capitalized, which brings the T–V distinction to the plural as well in the written language for some speakers (i.e. singular ''þu–Yu'' and plural ''ye–Ye'').

=== Articles ===

The [[wikipedia:Indefinite article|indefinite article]] of Borish is ''an'' for masculine and neuter nouns, and ''ane'' for feminine nouns. The indefnite article of Borish is, similar to Estmerish or Weranian, used exclusively in the singular. It is derived from the numeral ''aan'' (“one”).<br>The [[wikipedia:Definite article|definite article]] in its default form is ''þe'', which is its only form in the colloquial spoken language for some speakers. Alongside with ''þë'', a graphical variant spelling used to signify plural meaning, it is the only form of the definite article used in accordance to the Helman standard. Both in the spoken and the written language, there are dedicated forms for the grammatical cases. The forms are, in order of masculine, feminine and neuter, for the nominative (''þer/þe/þet''), the accusative (''þen/þer/þem''), the genitive (''þes/þer/þes'') and the dative (''þem/þer/þem''), although many speakers collapse this system somewhat. After having been lost during the Middle Borish, dedicated case forms were reloaned into the language through literature.

=== Verbs ===

Borish verbs [[wikipedia:Conjugation|conjugate]] for two numbers (singular and plural), three persons and two tenses. Though present in some Old Borish texts, Borish now lacks any other sort of verbal conjugation besides that.<br>Although the tenses are generally referred to as “present” and “past”, Borish could also be analysed as having a [[wikipedia:Past tense|past tense]] and a [[wikipedia:Non-past tense|non-past tense]], as the so-called “present tense” covers a variety of times. There is no dedicated [[wikipedia:Future tense|future tense]] in verbal conjugation, although a future tense can be formed by means of using the auxiliary ''werden'' (from Weranian ''werden'' “to become”) + the infinitive form of a given verb. Furthermore, using the verbs ''haven'' (“to have”) and ''sën'' (“to be”), sometimes in combination with ''werden'', as auxiliary verbs followed by the infinitive form of a lexical verb, the Borish verbal system shows a great degree of similarity with Estmerish and Weranian.<br>A progressive conjugation similar to Estmerish -''ing''- forms can be achieved with the construction ''auxiliary verb (conjugated)'' + ''àn þat'' + ''lexical verb (infinitive)'' or, alternatively, ''auxiliary verb (conjugated)'' + ''àn'' + ''lexical verb (ending in -ënd)''.<br>Almost all Borish verbs end in -''en'' in the infinitive, with the singular conjugations being -''e''/-''(e)st''/-''eþ'' for the respective person. Similar to Azmaran, all plural conjugations are identical, although, in contrast to Azmaran, being -''en'' in Borish. In the past tense, regular verbs end in -''(e)de''/-''(e)dest''/-''(e)de'' in the singular and -''den'' in the plural. The [[wikipedia:Past participle|past participle]] of a given verb usually ends in -''ed'', more rarely in -''en''.<br>Borish distinguishes between weak verbs and strong verbs, similar to Azmaran, Weranian and Estmerish, with strong verbs exhibiting umlaut in some or all of their past tense conjugated forms.<br>An example for a strong and a weak verb is shown below.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Weak verb: ''reghnen'' (“to rain”)
! Person
! Present
! Past
|-
!style="text-align: left;" | ik
| reghn'''e'''
| reghne'''de'''
|-
!style="text-align: left;" | þu
| reghn'''est'''
| reghne'''dest'''
|-
!style="text-align: left;" | hë/së/it
| reghn'''eþ'''
| reghne'''de'''
|-
!style="text-align: left;" | wy/ye/þey
| reghn'''en'''
| reghne'''den'''
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Strong verb: ''melken'' (“to milk”)
! Person
! Present
! Past
|-
!style="text-align: left;" | ik
| melk'''e'''
| molk
|-
!style="text-align: left;" | þu
| melk'''est'''
| molk'''est'''
|-
!style="text-align: left;" | hë/së/it
| melk'''eþ'''
| melk'''de'''
|-
!style="text-align: left;" | wy/ye/þey
| melk'''en'''
| melk'''den'''
|}

Strong verbs make up most irregular verbs. Most of the time, a strong verb in Estmerish correlates with a strong verb in Borish (as is the case with, for example, ''rennen'' and “to run”), although this is not always the case, as some verbs have lost their historical strong declension in Estmerish (e.g. ''helpen'' and “to help”) or in Borish (e.g. ''kutten'' and “to cut”), while some strong verbs in Estmerish never have been strong verbs in Borish (e.g. ''katchen'' and “to catch”).<br>Some strong verbs in Borish include: ''bearen'' (''ik beare/boar/have boaren'' “to carry, to bear”), ''beginnen'' (''ik beginne/began/have begonnen'' “to begin”), ''beuden'' (''ik beude/baud/have boden'' “to bid”), ''binden'' (''ik binde/band/have bunden'' “to bind”), ''blowen'' (''ik blowe/blew/have blowen'' “to blow”), ''botten'' (''ik botte/boat/have botten'' “to beat”), ''brecken'' (''ik brecke/brock/have brocken'' “to break”), ''draghen'' (''ik draghe/drogh/have draghen'' “to draw, to pul; to carry, to wear”), ''drinken'' (''ik drinke/drank/have drunken''), ''eaten''/''eten'' (''ik eate''/''ete/aat/have eaten''/''eten'' “to eat”), ''feghten'' (''ik feghte/foght/have foghten'' “to fight”), ''fallen'' (''ik falle/fell/have fallen'' “to fall”), ''geven'' (''ik geve/gaav/have geven'' “to give”), ''halden'' (''ik halde/held/have halden'' “to hold”), ''helpen'' (''ik helpe/halp/have holpen'' “to help”), ''kommen'' (''ik komme/kam/have kommen'' “to come”), ''krowen'' (''ik krowe/krew/have krowen'' “to crow”), ''kveþen'' (''ik kveþe/kvoþ/have kveþen'' “to chat”, cognate with “to quethe”), ''lighen'' (''ik lighe/lagh/have leghen'' “to lie” (as in “to lie down”)), ''leughen'' (''ik leughe/loagh/haven loaghen'' “to lie” (as in “to tell a lie”)), ''melken'' (''ik melke/molk/have molken'' “to milk”), ''melten'' (''ik melte/molt/have molten'' “to melt”), ''rennen'' (''ik renne/rann/have ranned'' “to run”), ''saken'' (''ik sake/sook/have saken'' “to quarrel”, cognate of “forsake”), ''se(gh)en'' (''ik se(gh)e/sa(gh)e/have se(gh)en'' “to see”), ''sinken'' (''ik sinke/sank/have sunken'' “to sink”), ''sitten'' (''ik sitte/sat/have setten'' “to sit”), ''spreaken'' (''ik spreake/sproak/have sprocken'' “to speak”), ''stealen'' (''ik steale/stoal/have stolen'' “to steal”), ''sterven'' (''ik sterve/starv/have storven'' “to die”), ''swearen'' (''ik sweare/swoar/have sworen'' “to swear”), ''swellen'' (''ik swelle/swoll/have swollen'' “to swell”), ''swimmen'' (''ik swimme/swam/have swommen'' “to swim”), ''taken'' (''ik take/took/have taken'' “to take, touch”), ''tearen'' (''ik teare/toar/have toaren'' “to tear”), ''terren'' (''ik terre/tor/have torren'' “to rip”), ''þrowen'' (''ik þrowe/þrew/have þrowen'' “to throw”), ''winnen'' (''ik winne/wan/have wonnen'' “to win”) etc.“”

=== Adjectives ===

In Modern Borish, adjectives only have two forms: their so-called dictionary form (Borish: ''bookform''), which is used when they do not describe a noun, and their only declined form, usually with a suffix -''e''. After the indefinite article, the grammatical gender of the noun the adjective describes is marked on the adjective in the case of masculine and neuter nouns (with the suffixes -''er'' and -''et'', respectively).

=== Syntax ===

The default [[wikipedia:Word order|word order]] in Borish is SVO, with adjectives preceeding the nouns they govern. Much like in Estmerish, but in contrast to Azmaran and Weranian, Borish is not a V2 language, meaning that the word order does not change to SOV in [[wikipedia:Secondary clause|secondary clauses]].<br>Questions are mostly formed by putting the conjugated verb infront of the subject, which also applies to [[wikipedia:WH-question|WH-questions]].

== Vocabulary ==

The majority of words in Borish, especially those of daily use, are of proto-Weranic origin, which can be split into three categories: words directly inherited from proto-Weranic, Borish neologisms based on proto-Weranic roots and words loaned from other Weranic languages. Furthermore, a substantial part of words, especially in professional and scientific vocabulary, is of [[wikipedia:Greek language|Piraeo]]-[[wikipedia:Latin language|Solarian]] origin, often via [[wikipedia:French language|Gaullican]] or Estmerish. The greatest sources of [[wikipedia:Loan word|loan words]] in Borish are, in order, Estmerish, Piraean/Solarian, Gaullican and Weranian.<br>During the late Middle Borish period, a tendency towards [[wikipedia:Calque|calquing]] words rather than loaning them directly started, which was also the preferred mode of word creation during the early Modern Borish period. Oftentimes, Weranian or Azmaran words were taken as inspiration for new Borish vocabulary, whilst other times, completely new words were created.

=== Grammatical Gender ===

The grammatical gender of a word usually does not relate to any sort of biological gender or sex, but rather is related to how a noun pluralizes and how adjectives decline for the noun. While the gender of most inanimate objects and animals is arbitrary, there are some instances where grammatical gender and gender match up in the case of about a dozen words relating to people. More specifically, these are, besides the words ''wive'' (“woman” or “wife”), ''mÿde'' (“girl” or “girlfriend”), ''dame'' (“lady”) and ''frawe'' (“madam” or “Mrs./Miss”), words for kinship, such as ''maþer'' (“mother”), ''ante'' (“aunt”), ''cousine'' (“fem. cousin”), ''doghter'' (“daughter”) or ''swester'' (“sister”). Furthermore, the professional words ''nure'' (“nurse”), ''nonne'' (“nun”), ''hvore'' (“whore”, “prostitute”) and ''wicke''/''hagge'' (“witch”) are also feminine, regardless of the gender of the person in the profession. All other nouns referring to humans are masculine, regardless of the gender of the person that is referred to. There is no suffix for turning masculine words into feminine ones (in analogy to Weranian -''in'') or vice versa.

== Examples ==

The Lordʼs Prayer (''Unser Faþer'') in Borish, with some of the common spelling variants:

:Unser/Onser faþer, hvor þu art in þe himmel,
:Healegh is þin name,
:Þin ryk komme/kumme,
:Þin wille komme/kumme daan,
:Hvo in þe himmel, it sey af þe earþe,
:Geve uns àn þis dagh unser/onser dagheleghet brod,
:And fergeve uns unsere/ons onsere shuld,
:Hvo ogh wy fergeven unsere/onsere shulderen,
:And loade uns/ons nët to forseeking,
:Aver/aʼer erloose uns/ons op þet boos,
:For þis is þet ryk,
:And þe kraft and þe hearleghhyd,
:In everhyd/eʼerhyd,
:Amen.

IPA:

: [ˈʊnsəɾ~ˈɔnsəɾ ˈfɑːθəɾ | hwɔːɾ θuː ɑːɾt ɪn θə ˈhɪmːəɫ]
: [ˈhɛːə̯ɫɛɣ‿ɪs θi(ː)n ˈnɑːmə]
: [θi(ː)n ˈɾiːk ˈkɔmːə~ˈkʊmːə]
: [θi(ː)n ˈwɪɫːə ˈkɔmːə~ˈkʊmːə ˈdɑːn]
: [hwɔ ɪn θə ˈhɪmːəɫ | ɪt ˈsɛɪ̯ ɑf θə ˈɛːə̯ɾθə]
: [ˈɡeːvə ʊns~ɔns ɑn θɪs ˈdɑːɣ‿ˈʊnsəɾ~ˈɔnsəɾ ˈdɑːɣəɫəɣət ˈbɾoːd]
: [ɑnd fəɾˈɡeːvə ʊns~ɔns ˈʊnsəɾə~ˈɔnsəɾə ˈʃʊə̯ɫd]
: [hwɔ ɔɣ ˈwiː fəɾˈɡeːvən ˈʊnsəɾə~ˈɔnsəɾə ˈʃʊə̯ɫdəɾən]
: [ɑnd ˈlɔːdə ʊns~ɔns ˈnɘt to fɔɾˈseːkɪŋ]
: [ˈɑː(v)əɾ əɾˈloːsə ʊns~ɔns ɔp θət ˈboːs]
: [fɔːɾ θɪs ɪs θət ˈɾiːk]
: [ɑnd θə ˈkɾɑft ɑnd θə ˈhɛːə̯ɾlɛxˌhiːd]
: [ɪn ˈɛ(v)əɾˌhiːd ‖ ˈɑmən]

[[Category:Language (Kylaris)]]
[[Category:Languages]]
[[Category:Borland (Kylaris)]]