Nordhic language

Nordhic
Norðskt
Pronunciation	[n̪o̰ɐ̯ʒˀ]
Native to	Nordhurlant
Region	Eastern Vestrim
Ethnicity	Nordhic people
Native speakers	183,865 (2016)
Language family	Cataisuran Theudish Saivomannic Nordhic
Early form
Standard forms	Modern Standard Nordhic
Dialects	Capital Eastern Southern
Writing system	Latin alphabet
Official status
Official language in	Nordhurlant
Regulated by	Nordhic Language Academy
Language codes
ISO 639-3	–

Nordhic ([ˈnɔˑɻðɪk]; norðskt pronounced [n̪o̰ɐ̯ʒˀ], norðskt sprag [n̪oɐ̯‿ˈʃpʁɔ̰ɐ̯ˀ]) is a Lhedwinic language closely related to Navish, Aleian and Rigjordic. It is spoken by around 135,000 people in Nordhurlant as of 2016. Like all Lhedwinic languages, it is descended from Old Lhedwinic. Nordhic was for a while the only official language in Nordhurlant, even though it only made up 18% or so of the population. Nordhic is used only for governmental business and in Nordhurlandic households of colonial Nordhic descent.

The language can be grouped into three main dialect groups, capital Nordhic, eastern Nordhic and southern Nordhic. Capital Nordhic is spoken mainly in the capital Nordhurstadt and some areas along the Patāqmetasok cliffs. Eastern Nordhic is spoken along the eastern coast and in the city of Jakālesamān and the town of Paqtatesamqwan. Southern Nordhic is spoken in small pockets in and around the copper mining town of Siputaqaméten.

Phonology

Consonants

		Labial	Coronal	Palatal	Velar~Uvular	Glottal
Plosive	voiceless	p	t		k
	voiced	b	d		g
Continuant	voiceless	f	θ s		[χ ~ x]	h
	voiced	v ~ ʋ	ð [z]	j	ʁ [ɣ]
	lateral		l	[ʃ]	[ʎ]
Nasal		m	n		[ŋ]
Vocoid		[ʊ̯]	[ə̯]	[ɪ̯]	[ɐ̯]

• [p] is normally heavily aspirated syllable-initially, where "pa" may become [pʰɔ̰ɐ̯ˀ].

• [t] alternates freely with [t̪]. Both are normally heavily aspirated syllable-initially, like [p]. This results in the pronunciations [tʰ] and [t̪ʰ].

• [k], like all voiceless plosives, is heavily aspirated syllable-initially, giving [kʰ]. Some speakers may even pronounce [k] as a voiceless velar affricate, like [k͡x].

• [b] is pronounced as [b] in most cases where lenition is not present, however syllable-initially in syllables that do not result in [b] being lenited it may be realized as unaspriated voiceless [p].

• [d] is pronounced as [d] in most cases where lenition is not present, however syllable-initially in syllables that do not result in [d] being lenited it may be realized as unaspriated voiceless [t]. Additionally, in quick speech, [d] may be realized as [ð].

• [g]is pronounced as [g] in most cases where lenition is not present, however syllable-initially in syllables that do not result in [g] being lenited it may be realized as unaspriated voiceless [k]. Additionally, in quick speech, [g] may be realized as [ɣ].

• [f] is either normal [f] or bilabial [ɸ]. In quick speech, [f] may also be realized as the voiceless approximant [ʋ̥].

• [θ] is written "þ" and is a dental fricative, mostly only used in the capital dialect. Elsewhere, it has merged with [s] (southern dialect) or [t̪] (eastern dialect). Where it does appear in the capital dialect, it may never appear word-initially.

• [s] is wither alveolar [s] or dental [s̪]. Some dialects have merged this with the voiceless dental fricative [θ].

• [χ] or [x] is a sound that is not written as part of the language but instead appears as the soft lenited version of [k]. [χ] and [x] are not distinguished by placement and are instead alternate placements for the same phonemic value.

• [h] is a voiceless glottal fricative, [h]. Some dialects have a voiced glottal fricative allophone [ɦ], whereas others have the voiced velar fricative [ɣ] as an allophone.

• [v] is either a voiced labiodental fricative [v] or a voiced labiodental approximant [ʋ]. The southern dialect has [v] in most cases but [ʋ] as an allophone before [y] or [ʏ].

• [ð], like [θ], is a dental fricative. Written "ð", it is only used in the capital dialect, where it may not appear word-initially. The southern dialect has merged it with [s] or [z], [z] being a voiced allophone of [s]. The eastern dialect, like [θ], has merged [ð] with dental [d̪].

• [z] is a voiced allophone of [s] that is written "s" and appears in all dialects in a place that is not word-intially where [s] would not be lenited.

• [j] is a palatal approximant and is written "j". [j] alternates with the vocoid (non-syllabic vowel) [ɪ̯] in diphthongs and lenited consonants.

• [ʁ] is a voiced uvular fricative and is written "r". It only produces [ʁ] word-initially or before unlenited consonant clusters, whereas elsewhere it appears as [ɐ̯].

• [ɣ] is a voiced allophone of [x] and is produced when a consonat is lenited. Some dialects have merged [ɣ] with uvular [ʁ].

• [l] is a voiced lateral approximant that has a palatal allophone [ʎ] before or after high vowels that do not lenite the consonant.

• [ʃ] is a voiceless alveolo-palatal fricative and is produced in Standard Nordhic in the consonant cluster "skt" or "ðskt". In some areas in the south, the consonant cluster "skt" as laminal [s̻k].

• [ʎ] is the palatal allophone to [l] when [l] is before or after high vowels that do not lenite.

• [m] is a bilabial nasal that may be also realized as labiodental [ɱ] in certain cases.

• [n] is a coronal nasal whose actual realization can vary between real [n] and dental [n̪].

• [ŋ] is a velar nasal and is the allophone of both [m] and [n] before a velar stop.

• The vocoids [ɐ̯], [ə̯], [ɪ̯] and [ʊ̯] are all allophones of consonants whose true realization is actually a non-syllabic vowel. These vocoids are produced when a consonant is strongly lenited are undergoes stød.

Soft lenition

Soft lenition is a process in which a consonant is modified based on the surrounding vowels. Low-stress vowels such as [a] may cause this type of lenition. Soft lenition is contrasted to hard lenition, also called strong lenition or plain lenition, which modifies the consonant in a different, harsher way. Soft lenition is characterized by the voicing of voiceless stops, the fricativization of voiced stops and the reduction of fricatives into non-syllabic vowels or approximants. Nasals also become voiced fricatives in most cases. In others, nasals become non-syllabic vowels or approximants. A consonant undergoes soft lenition when it is surrounded by two low-stress vowels, or either preceding or following one word-initially. The addition of other consonants or high-stress vowels around the consonant will cause strong lenition.

Soft Lenition
Sound	p	t	k	b	d	g	f	v	θ	ð	s	l	ʃ	ʁ	m	n	ŋ
Lenited sound	b	d	g	β	ð	ɣ	ʋ	ʊ̯	ə̯	ɐ̯	ə̯	ɪ̯	ʒ	ɐ̯	ʋ̃	z̃	ɣ̃

Strong lenition

Strong lenition is a process in which a consonant is modified based on the surrounding vowels. High-stress vowels such as [ɑ] may cause this type of lenition. Strong lenition is contrasted to soft lenition, also called weak lenition, which modifies the consonant in a different, softer way. Strong lenition is characterized by the fricativization of voiceless stops, the reduction of voiced stops into non-syllabic vowels and the reduction of fricatives into non-syllabic vowels, approximants or sometimes complete deletion of the fricative. Nasals also become non-syllabic vowels or approximants in most cases. A consonant undergoes strong lenition when it borders a high-stress vowel, either preceding or following one word-initially, or the beginning of a consonant cluster. Stød also causes strong lenition.

Strong Lenition
Sound	p	t	k	b	d	g	f	v	θ	ð	s	l	ʃ	ʁ	m	n	ŋ
Lenited sound	v	ð	ɣ	ʊ̯	ə̯	ɪ̯	ʊ̯	∅	ə̯	∅	∅	∅	ɐ̯	ɐ̯	ʊ̯	ə̯	ɪ̯

Stød

Stød is a Nordhic phenomenon where syllables ending with a consonant cluster word-medially and all syllables ending with a consonant (except r) word-finally undergo a mutation. Stød causes three things: creaky voice on the preceding vowel, strong lenition of the final consonant or medial consonant cluster, and glottalization of the final consonant or vowel. If the final consonant was an "n" that has been lenited, the preceding vowel also becomes nasalized. Examples of stød include the particle "af", pronounced [ɑ̰ʊ̯ˀ]. The "f" has been lenited to [ʊ̯], the initial vowel [ɑ] becomes creaky [ɑ̰] and the final [ʊ̯] is glottalized as [ʊ̯ˀ]. Examples of word-medial stød include "kornyn", [ko̰ɐ̯n̥̩ˀʏ̰̃ˀ]. Note the final devocalization of [n], so much so that it is barely pronounced. The diphthong [ɔɐ̯] becomes creaky [ɔ̰ɐ̯], and the [n̥̩] is glottalized. Note also the final stød in this word, where there was once an [n] that has been lost to lenition. As a result, [ʏ] is [ʏ̰̃ˀ], creaky, nasal and glottalized.

Vowels

<imgur w="350px" thumb="yes" align="right" comment="The established monophthongs of Nordhic on a vowel chart.">HUoo7ZG.png</imgur> There are generally considered to be three types of vowels in Nordhic, differentiated based on the level of stress carried with them. Original Middle Lhedwinic long vowels [ɑ:, e:, ø: i:, o:, u: y:] were shortened and became modern Nordhic [ɑ, e, ø, i, o, u, y]. Middle Lhedwinic short vowels [ɑ~a, e, ø~œ, i, o, u, y] were further reduced and became [a, ɛ, œ, ɨ~ɪ, ɔ, ʌ, ʏ]. This all comes in addition to the heavily unstressed vowels [ɐ ə ɪ ʊ]. This makes three categories of modern Nordhic vowels, high-stress, low stress and unstressed. Depending on the level of stress, vowels modify and lenite the surrounding consonants.

High-stress vowels

• [ɑ], a low back vowel, causes velarization of most consonants and pharyngealization of some velars, like [ɣ, ʁ], in addition to general lenition. The vowel itself can also be itself pharyngealized in the syllable onset, leading to the realization [ɑˤ] in some dialects. This vowel is written "á" and is only realized like [ɑ] in the syllable onset.

• [e], a high-mid front vowel, causes lenition and softening of surrounding consonants. The vowel can also be realized as the diphthong [ɛɪ], where the surrounding consonants can also be slightly palatalized to accompany this. This vowel is written "æ" and is realized like [e] only in the syllable onset.

• [ø] is a high-mid front rounded vowel and causes both lenition, softening and sometimes labialization of surrounding consonants. Labialization is especially noticeable in front consonants, where the sequence /bø/ is more closely represented as [bʷø]. This vowel is written "ø" and is realized as [ø] in the syllable onset and the coda of the most stressed syllable.

• [i] is a high front vowel and is the most stressed of all the vowels. Normal realization can come close to [iˤ] because of the amount of tongue tension used while putting stress on the vowel. [i] palatalizes and lenites consonants, so much so that "ige" can be realized as [iɣʲɛ] ~ [iʝɛ] ~ [iɛ̯]. [i] is written "i" and is pronounced as such only in the syllable onset.

• [o] is a high-mid back rounded vowel, and causes velarization, pharyngealization and lenition like [ɑ], in addition to labialization. The sequence "go" may be realized as [gˤʷo]. Like [ɑ], [o] can be pharyngealized itself in syllable onset and can be realized as [oˤ]. This vowel is written "o" and is pronounced like [o] in syllable onset and the coda of the most stressed syllable.

• [u] is a low back rounded vowel, and causes velarization, pharyngealization of velars, lenition and labialization. Like [o] and [ɑ], [u] can be pharyngealized itself to be realized as [uˤ]. The sequence "ute" is heavily affected and most Nordhic speakers will realize this sequence as [uˤɛ̯ˤ]. This vowel is written "u" and is realized like this only in the syllable onset.

• [y] is a high front rounded vowel and is the second-most stressed of all Nordhic vowels. Normal realization can come to [yˤ], similar to [i]. [y] labializes, palatalizes and lenites consonants. Like [a], [o] and [u], the vowel can be further pharyngealized. The sequence "yte", when stressed, can be realized [yˤˤɹ̥ɛ]. This vowel is written "y" or "ý" and is realized as [y] only in the syllable onset and coda of the most stressed syllable.

Low-stress vowels

• [a] is a near-low close-mid vowel and is the low stress equivalent of [ɑ]. [a] causes soft lenition of consonants, where "i daget" can be realized as [i‿ðaɣə̰ˀ]. This vowel is written "á" and appears in the coda of unstressed syllables that do not undergo stød, and the coda of secondarily stressed syllables that do not undergo stød.

• [ɛ] is a mid close-front vowel and is the low stress equivalent of [e]. [ɛ] causes soft lenition of consonants, where "á veggar" can be realized as [ɑ‿ʋɛɣɔɐ̯]. This vowel is written "e" and appears in the coda of unstressed syllables that do not undergo stød, and the coda of secondarily stressed syllables that do not undergo stød.

• [œ] is a low-mid close-front rounded vowel and is the low stress equivalent of [ø]. [œ] causes soft lenition of consonants, where "edøg" can be realized as [eðœɣ]. This vowel is written "ø" and appears in the coda of unstressed syllables that do not undergo stød.

• [ɨ] is a near-high front-central vowel and is the low stress equivalent of [i] for some speakers. In most dialects, [ɨ] has merged with the unstressed vowel [ɪ]. [ɨ] causes soft lenition of consonants, where "mølnir" may be realized as [mʷøl̩nɨɐ̯] ~ [mʷøl̩nɪɐ̯]. This vowel is written "i" and appears in the coda of unstressed syllables that do not undergo stød, and the coda of secondarily stressed syllables that do not undergo stød.

• [ɔ] is a mid back-central rounded vowel and is the low stress equivalent of [o]. [ɔ] causes soft lenition of consonants, where "nyord" may be realized as [n̪yɔ̰ɐ̯ˀ]. This vowel is written "o" and appears in the coda of unstressed syllables that do not undergo stød.

• [ʌ] is a low-mid back-central lightly-rounded vowel and is the low stress equivalent to [u]. [ʌ] may be (more accurately) transcribed as [ʌ̹]. Some speakers round the vowel completely, giving [ɔ̞̟]. [ʌ] causes soft lenition of consonants, where "blávur" may be realized as [bl̩ɑ̰ˀʌ̹ɐ̯]. This vowel is written "u" and appears in the coda of unstressed syllables that do not undergo stød, and the coda of secondarily stressed syllables that do not undergo stød.

• [ʏ] is a near-high near-front lightly rounded vowel and may also be transcribed as [ʏ̜]. [ʏ] is the low stress equivalent of [y]. [ʏ] causes soft lenition of consonants, where "kornyn" may be transcribed as [ko̰ɐ̯n̥̩ˀʏ̰̃ˀ]. This vowel is written "y" and appears in the coda of unstressed syllables that do not undergo stød.

Unstressed vowels

• [ɐ] is a low-mid central vowel and is the unstressed equivalent to [ɑ], [a], [ø] and [œ]. [ɐ] can also be non-syllabic, being the realization of [ʁ] in the syllable coda between vowels or syllable-finally. Non-syllabic [ɐ̯] can be a product of soft and hard lenition, where a consonant has been lenited to get rid of a cluster to free up [ʁ]. [ɐ] is also the product of "a" or "ø" in the final unstressed syllable that undergoes stød. [ɐ] can be written "a", "ø" or "r" and is pronounced when an "r" is between vowels in the syllable coda or syllable-finally, or when an "a" or "ø" is in a final unstressed syllable that undergoes stød.

• [ə] is a mid central vowel and is the unstressed equivalent to [e] and [ɛ]. [ə] is the product of "e" in the final unstressed syllable and can be written "e". It is the also the product of the soft lenition of the dental fricatives "ð" [ð] and "þ" [θ], and coronal "n" [n ~ n̪], where it is non-syllabic, appearing as [ə̯].

• [ɪ] is a high-mid central-front vowel and is the unstressed equivalent to [i], [ɨ], [y] and [ʏ]. [ɪ] is the product of "i" and "y" in the final unstressed syllable and can be written either way. [ɪ] also has its own non-syllabic version, [ɪ̯], appearing as the strong lenited version of "g" and "k", "l" in some cases.

• [ʊ] is a open-mid central-back vowel and is the unstressed equivalent to [u], [ʌ], [o] and [ɔ]. [ʊ] is the product of "u" and "o" in the final unstressed syllable and can be written either way. [ʊ] also has its own non-syllabic version, [ʊ̯], appearing as the strong lenited version of "m", "b" and "p" in some cases.

Diphthongs

• [ɔɐ̯] is a rising diphthong produced by the character "a" in most dialects. Some dialects retain an older pronunciation of "a", closer to [ɑ̝].

• [ɛɪ̯] is a rising diphthong produced by the combinations "ei" or "ej", where the [ɪ] becomes non-syllabic.

• [əɪ̯] is a rising diphthong produced by the combinations "oi", "oi", "aj" or "ai".

• [ɑʊ̯] is a falling diphthong produced by the soft lenition of "v" and the strong lenition of "f" after a vowel. Consider the particle "af", which is realized as [ɑ̰ʊ̯ˀ] ~ [ɑ̰ʋ̥̩ˀ].

Grammar

The grammar of Nordhic is typical of a Saivomannic language, having developed from the dependent-marking free-word-ordered Proto-Cataisuran language into a mostly analytical language with strong emphasis on word order and a comparatively rich syntax. Nordhic shares many traits in common with other Theudish languages such as the distinction between strongly inflected words using ablaut and the weakly inflected words using suffixes. Only pronouns are inflected for case (nominative, accusative and genitive). Typically of Cataisuran languages, Nordhic follows an accusative morphosyntactic alignment.

Nouns

Nordhic nouns are inflected for number (singular/plural) and definiteness (indefinite/definite), where the singular and indefinite forms do not inflect. The definite and plural forms combine together to form a separate definite-plural form. A characteristic trait of Lhedwinic languages, the plural, definite and definite-plural markings have developed into suffixes for the noun. Nordhic inflects strong nouns through ablaut and suffixes (e.g. bon/bønner "bean/beans") and weak nouns through suffixes alone (e.g. kyn/kynnor "woman/women"). Unlike many other Lhedwinic languages, Nordhic does not retain grammatical gender. Possession is marked by the enclitic "s", like in other Lhedwinic languages.

Definiteness & number

Definiteness and number is marked by a suffix that depends on the class of the noun in question. Nouns in Nordhic fall into 7 categories or classes, with other exceptions. Noun classes in Nordhic are all based on the root vowel of the noun, or in other words the vowel of the most stressed syllable in the original word. Indefinite singular nouns are all preceded by the article ejnn, "a(n)". Plural definite nouns take not two suffixes, but a completely separate suffix. When a noun is precede by an adjective, the noun does not take a definite article and instead has the demonstrative particle det placed in front.

Nordhic Noun Classes
Root Vowel	a	æ	á	e	o	ø	i	u	y	ý
Class	I	II	III	IV	V	VI	III	III	VII	III
Singular	(ejnn) brand "(a) fire"	(ejnn) væg "(a) way"	(ejnn) mánd "(a) month"	(ejnn) veg "(a) wall"	(ejnn) bon "(a) bean"	(ejnn) dør "(a) door"	(ejnn) fisk "(a) fish"	(ejnn) hus "(a) house"	(ejnn) kyn "(a) woman"	(ejnn) hýlling "(a) chicken"
Definite singular	branet "the fire"	væget "the way"	mánnet "the month"	vegen "the wall"	bonen "the bean"	dørn "the door"	fisket "the fish"	huset "the house"	kynt "the woman"	hýllinget "the chicken"
Indefinite plural	brænner "fires"	vægger "ways"	mánnar "months"	veggar "walls"	bønner "beans"	dørrer "doors"	fiskar "fish"	hussar "houses"	kynnor "women"	hýllingar "chickens"
Definite plural	brænnern "the fires"	væggern "the ways"	mánnarn "the months"	veggarn "the walls"	bønnern "the beans"	dørrern "the doors"	fiskarn "the fish"	hussarn "the houses"	kynnorn "the women"	hýllingarn "the chickens"

When a definite noun is modified by an adjective, it takes the definite demonstrative particle det. Indefinite:

Ejgg sa ejnn kyn

"I saw a woman"

Definite (enclitic):

Ejgg sa kynt

"I saw the woman"

Definite (demonstrative):

Ejgg sa det haj kyn

"I saw the tall woman"

Plural definite (demonstrative):

Ejgg sa det haj kynnor

"I saw the tall women"

There also exist many irregular plurals such as man/mænn, "man/men"; ko/kø, "cow/cows"; and aj/ajn, "eye/eyes".

Possession

Possessive phrases in Nordhic are formed with the enclitic particle "-s". For example, min faðurs fisk "my father's fish", where faður carries the possessive enclitic. This is not, however, a genitive case as whole phrases are appended with the enclitic to mark possession as in prinset af Norðurlants tánk "the prince of Nordhurlant's tank".

Pronouns

Nordhic pronouns retain the difference between subjective and oblique pronouns. Subjective pronouns are used only as the subject of the sentence whereas the oblique pronoun is used for all other cases (accusative, dative, comparative, etc.). Unlike nouns, third person singular pronouns differ in gender, giving hán "he", hun "she" and det "it/unknown".

Person	Subjective Case	Oblique Case	Dependent Possessive	Independent Possessive
1ps	ejgg	mig	min	mine
2ps	dy	dig	din	dine
3ps	hán/hun/det	vám/hen/den	háns/huns/dets	váms/hune/dens
1pp	vi	vys	vyre	vyres
2pp	y	yr	yre	yres
3pp	de	dem	dyr	dyres

Ejgg spese

"I eat"

Dy spese

"You eat"

Ejgg spese dig

"I eat you"

Dy spese mig

"You eat me"

Possessive pronouns have both independent and dependent forms. The dependent (or adjectival) form is used immediately preceding the owned noun, whereas the independent form is used on its own. A separate possessor sin is used in addition to the regular pronoun when the owner is the same as the subject in the third person plural and the first plural, i.e. De sa sin dyr hus "They saw their own house", however in the third person the sin directly replaces the pronoun, Hán sa sin hus "He saw his own house", versus Hán sa váms hus, "He saw his house (someone else's)". When used with the first person plural, it allows distinction between inclusive and exclusive first person plurals, i.e. Det ært vyre hus "That is our (but not your) house", versus Det ært sin vyre hus "That is our (including your) house".

Verbs

Nordhic verbs are morphologically relatively simple. They mark only for the third person singular and plural forms. Nordhic verbs have non-past, past, passive, imperative and present and past participle forms. They can be divided into strong/irregular and weak/regular verbs.

Tense, mood, aspect and voice

Like most Alemannic languages, verbs can be divided into to groups; strong/irregular and weak/regular. Regular Nordhic verbs can further be divided into three classes based on the suffix taken in the past tense. Class I weak verbs take the suffix -te, Class II verbs the suffix -ede and Class III the suffix -eþ.

The Nordhic infinitive tense always takes the ending -e, [ə] and are preceded by the article at, [ɔ̰ɐ̯ˀ]. Nordhic verbs in the non-past tense take -r for first person singular and second person singular, -t for third person singular and -n in the plural forms. There are also a few irregular non-past forms that do not follow this rule. The past tense does not always mark something temporally in the past, also representing conditionality.

The present participle ends in -ente, while the past participle ends in -eþ or ed. Additional tenses are formed with these participles in addition to the auxiliary verbs at hore "to have" and at fære "to be" in the past, at ville "to want" for the future and at kanne "can" for the contitional. These both also have participial forms useful in creating more tenses.

Ejgg siðer

"I sit"

Ejgg siðte

"I sat"

Ejgg ær siðente

"I am sitting"

Ejgg var siðente

"I was sitting"

Ejgg har siðte

"I have sat"

Ejgg haþ siðte

"I had sat"

Ejgg viller siðe

"I will sit"

Ejgg vilede siðe

"I wanted to sit"

Ejgg kaner siðe

"I can sit"

Ejgg kaner siðte

"I could sit"

Ejgg kaneþ siðte

"I could have sat"

Additionally, the passive may be formed with -s as in brevarn læses hvea morn "The letters are read each morning". The imperative simply removes the final schwa vowel, as in skrij! "scream!".

Syntax

Nordhic basic sentence structure order in sentences with both a subject and an object is SVO, though like other Lhedwinic languages it is a V2 language, meaning that the verb must always be in the second position in a sentence. The verb is grounded in the second sentence position, and others can move around it if necessary to achieve different pragmatic effects. The sentence material occupying the slot before the verb is normally pragmatically marked as new information or a new topic. Since topic and subject often coincide in Nordhic, when new information that is not the subject takes the preverbal position, the subject is moved to after the verb, making the order VSO.

Ejgg(S) saþ(V) dig(O)

"I saw you"

But when new information is introduced:

Siðstar saþ(V) ejgg(S) dig(O)

"Last year, I saw you"

Main clauses

The basic word order of Nordhic can be described as being comprised of eight positions (0-7).

O	dem	haþ	ejgg	eggi	skenende	ejnn tanke	i ær
And	them	had	I	not	given	a thought	in years
0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
"And them I hadn't given a thought in years"

Position 0 is not part of the sentence and can only contain connectors such as conjunctions or interjections. Position 1 may contain any sentence piece. Position 2 can only contain the main verb. Position 3 is the subject position when the preverbial position has been taken by new information. Position 4 can only contain light adverbs such as negation. Position 5 is for non-finite verbs, such as auxiliaries or participles. Position 6 is the position of direct and indirect objects, and position 7 is for heavy adverbial constituents.

Wh-question words always take the preverbial spot regardless of their function, while for simple yes/no questions the verb and subject are reversed, i.e. the preverbial spot is empty.

Hvarfar ær ejgg saðen dir?

"Why am I like this?"

Ær ejgg dom?

"Am I dumb?"

Subordinate clauses

In subordinate clauses, the word order is not the same as in main clauses. The subject always comes first in the clause, followed by any light adverbial material such as negation. The verb is always third in the clause. Complimentary clauses begin with at in the connector spot (position 0), while relative clauses begin with the connectors sam or der.

Hán sagte at hán eggi vilt smerð

"He said that he doesn't want any pain"

Ejgg har ting der smerð orsajn

"I have things that cause pain"

Sample

A translation of The King and the God into Nordhic.

English: Once there was a king. He was childless. The king wanted a son. He asked his priest: "May a son be born to me!" The priest said to the king: "Pray to the god Werunos." The king approached the god Werunos to pray now to the god. "Hear me, father Werunos!" The god Werunos came down from heaven. "What do you want?" "I want a son." "Let this be so," said the bright god Werunos. The king's lady bore a son.

Nordhic: Engang var der ejnn kong, som haþ eggi barn. Kongen vilede ejnn søn. Hán spørgede háns prest: "Kan ejnn søn at mig fojt ær!" Presten sijede at kongen: "Beð til gudet Verunos." Kongen gribeþ hán an gudet Verunos at beðe ny til gudet. "Højr mig, faður Verunos!" Gudet Verunos komede neþ fra himel. "Hvad viler dy?" "Ejgg viler ejnn søn." "Kan det saden fære," sijede lise gudet Verunos. Kongens kyn børe ejnn søn.