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Consonants k k (cat, corn, card) ch ch (cheerio, choke) f f (field, farm, feel) g g (garment, gun) h h (help, harm, hum) j j (jar, jam, jolt) m m (molt, mud, more) n n (none, need, numb) p p (pop, prince, pile) q kw (quell, quick, aqua) r r (rod, art, car) t t (tent, terror, twigs) T th (thin, math) v v (very, venal, eleven) y y (yonder, yawn, yet) z z (zero, zone, zen) zh zh (beige, de jour) |
The
Vowels
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Plurals
Words ending with an "e" have a plural ending of "ir". Ex; rage (lake) ragir (lakes)
Words ending in "æ" or "a" simply gain an "r" at the end. Ex; figræ (son) figrær (sons)
Basic
structural stuff
Adjectives follow the noun.
Objects precede their possessor. Ex; Ir cayeteren yovrana.
The castle (belonging to) (the) queen
The "n" at the end of cayetere signifies that it is possessed by the queen.
The past tense of a verb is signified by an "o" suffix. This results in a dipthong at the end of words, which is pronounced "ow" for words ending in "a", and "eho" or "ayo" for words ending in "e" or "æ" depending on the surrounding syllables.
The future tense is signified by the prefix "r'" or for words that already begin with an "r" an "e'"
Ex; payegiatao (walked), payegiata (walk), r'payegiata (will walk)
ravatao (washed), ravata (wash), e'ravata (will wash)
Gender is usually only used for beings, inanimate items usually are male by default.
Linguistic
Notes
While Patrician is the primary language of Ir Patria there is a substantial amount of regional variation. The tribal nations in the central highlands and mountains as well as the western plains and forests speak a much harsher sounding version of Patrician than their city-dwelling cousins. In this variation, referred to as Highland, the "k" sound is pronounced more like the "ch" of loch or Bach. The "g" sound is replaced by the "j" sound and the "j" itself has changed into a sound like the "g" in beige.
The Kikogneyi have not acquired this harsher variant and
speak the city version of Patrician. This
is due to their long trading and military alliances with the Empire.
The Vorpeyi of the north have almost lost the "th" sound and
use a glottal stop instead. This is
a result of influx of Teyeteye speakers some 1800 years ago.
The relative lack of outside contact has allowed this variant to take
hold. The Rupeyi tribes speak an
older form of Patrician. The
initial "g" has not changed entirely to a "y", resulting in
a "gy" sound. They also
tend to use archaic pronouns, though this is slowly being reserved solely for
formal occasions. All of the
civilized areas of Ir Patria speak the same version of Patrician, except for the
Regne thi Totue that has inherited a slight "sing-song" quality from
the Teyeteye language influx. The
"th" sound has been reduced to an "s" sound and not the
glottal stop used by the nearby Vorpeyi