Pelkish language
| Pelkish | |
|---|---|
| pèski mèʂàzik | |
| Native to | Nerotysia |
| Region | Originally northern Orda, now worldwide |
Native speakers | 50-60 million (2016) L2 speakers: 150-160 million; as a foreign language: 500-600 million |
| Latin (Pelkish alphabet) Pelkish Braille | |
| Official status | |
Official language in | Template:Country data Nerotysia Template:Country data Orcom 21+ other territories |
| Regulated by | Nerotysian People's Academy for the Arts |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-1 | pk |
| ISO 639-2 | plk |
| ISO 639-3 | plk |
Pelkish (pèski mèʂàzik) is an East Slavic language spoken by over 500 million people worldwide. It is the foremost official language of Nerotysia, which contains almost all of its 50 to 60 million native speakers. It is also an official language of the League of Ordic Communists, and is recognized as an official language by more than 21 other countries and territories, most of them members of the League or otherwise affiliated with the communist bloc. Pelkish belongs to the Ordo-Questani language family, and is the most widespread of the numerous East Slavic languages. Pelkish is the third-most spoken language in Ordis by total speakers, and is the third-largest native language in Orda. It is also one of the six official languages of the Ordic League.
Pelkish is primarily distinguished by its unusual gender system. Traditionally, there are eight grammatical genders, divided into two broad groups - "animate" and "inanimate" - of which the "animate" group also contains two sub-groups: "rational" and "irrational." The language also contains the dual grammatical number in addition to singular and plural - like many Slavic languages, Pelkish makes use of numerous grammatical categories and abundant inflection.
Classification
Standard Pelkish
Geographic distribution
Alphabet
The Pelkish alphabet is made up of 28 phonemes - 11 vowels and 17 consonants. The language primarily uses the basic Latin script, however it also makes extensive use of diacritics to distinguish characters, and a few letters are either unique to Pelkish or borrowed from other languages.
| letter | phoneme | English equivalent | example word | notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| À à | /ɔ/ | father | nèrʝàn (mountain, crag) | |
| Á á | /ɔ/ | awe | ápà (hole, crater) | |
| Ӕ ӕ | /ae̯/ | sigh | ӕsi (to throw, to hurl) | |
| È è | /ɛ/ | bed | rèl (wood, trunk) | |
| I i | /i/ | need | nàsli (eye) | |
| Ì ì | /ɪ/ | pick | bìbliátèkà (library) | |
| Ó ó | /o/ | ore | zàmór (knife, blade) | Only ever used in conjunction with ʋ, l, or r |
| U u | /ʌ/ | strut | nupkà (button) | Only ever used in conjunction with p, t, or d |
| Ú ú | /Y/ | nurse | púʂkà (pillow, cushion) | |
| Ǔ ǔ | /u/ | root | kǔlèn (village, community) | |
| Ũ ũ | /juː/ | cure | pũnsà (cannon) | Only ever used in conjunction with m or n |
| P p | /p/ | peck | pirjà (faith, belief) | |
| F f | /f/ | feather | tǔflà (slipper) | |
| M m | /m/ | rumble | mèʂkà (city) | |
| Ʋ ʋ | /ʋ/ | van | tàʋà (hair, fur) | |
| T t | /t/ | took | likát (dirty, soiled) | |
| D d | /d/ | deed | dǔk (ghost, spirit) | |
| S s | /s/ | snake | glàsnór (blacksmith) | |
| Z z | /z/ | zap | ćàzká (guard, sentry) | |
| C c | /t͡s/ | pits | cǔkà (king, sovereign) | |
| L l | /l/ | loop | lir (sun) | |
| R r | /ɹ/ | dark | kànirè (dress, gown) | |
| N n | /n/ | plain | nèlj (cloud) | |
| Ȿ ʂ | /ʃ/ | shoot | ʂàlʝà (club, bat) | |
| Ć ć | /t͡ʃ/ | couch | ćàlà (water) | |
| J j | /j/ | yes | ʝànjè (dance) | |
| K k | /k/ | back | mèlèká (milk) | |
| Ɉ ʝ | /g/ | green | ʝórlè (throat, gullet) |
Grammar
Noun Classes
Pelkish nouns are sorted into eight grammatical genders, each distinguished by semantics and a shared morphology. Specifically, the noun classes divide all things into two broad categories - “animates” and “inanimates.” Beyond those, the animate category itself contains two more groups.
Semantically, animates are all things which have an independent will - this group primarily includes divine figures, humans, animals, and plants. Nouns relating to divine beings are called “ethereal animates,” while humans, animals and plants are further divided into “rationals” and “irrationals.” Rational nouns relate almost entirely to humans, and they are divided into masculine and feminine forms. Irrational nouns relate primarily to animals and plants, and are also divided into masculine and feminine forms. The inanimate category, meanwhile, refers entirely to objects lacking an independent will, and is divided into masculine, feminine, and neuter forms.
So, the eight genders are grouped based on shared semantic characteristics (bolded words indicate genders):
- Animate
- Ethereal animates
- Rational
- Rational masculine animates
- Rational feminine animates
- Irrational
- Irrational masculine animates
- Irrational feminine animates
- Inanimate
- Masculine inanimates
- Feminine inanimates
- Neuter inanimates
However, for a variety of reasons, objects are often miscategorized semantically. For example, fire is considered to be an animate noun, despite the fact that fire has no independent will. Therefore, the best way to identify gender in a noun is to simply examine the morphology. Specifically, nouns of each gender share common endings:
| Gender | Ending |
|---|---|
| Ethereal animates | ӕ |
| Rational masculine animates | ǔ |
| Rational feminine animates | i |
| Irrational masculine animates | s or c |
| Irrational feminine animates | k or á |
| Masculine inanimates | è |
| Feminine inanimates | à or j |
| Neuter inanimates | r, n, or l |
It’s also important to note that a single noun may have several different forms, which are treated as separate words by the grammar of Pelkish. For example, the word “guard,” when referring to non-human entities, is translated to “ćàzká,” an irrational feminine animate. However, the same word “guard,” when referring to human entities, is translated to “ćàzki,” a rational feminine animate, and when referring to divine beings, “ćàzkӕ,” an ethereal animate.