Wikivex - The Free, Online, Vexillium Encyclopedia
Wikivex - The Free, Online, Vexillium Encyclopedia
Shaelic
Pronunciation: TBA
Spoken In: Shaelia, Lyson Empire, Greater Zartanian Empire
Speakers: First Language: 19 million
Second Language: 3-4 million
Family: Shalaise
Official Status
Official: Shaelia
Regulated by: No official regulation
Sample Wordlist
One: Dei People: Natabae
Two: Sa Big: Niz
Three: Zue Little: Nizien
River: Sae Love (v.): Rasat
Town: Hea Eat (v.): Belat

Shaelic, known as Férocaes by the native speakers, is the official and ancestral language of the Shaelic peoples of northern Eras. It is primarily spoken in the Shaelia. It is also spoken in other 0000 nations, such as the Lyson Empire and the Greater Zartanian Empire.

Phonetics[]

Consonants[]

IPA
Letter
Examples
Description
ɡ G, g grave, game voiced velar plosive
d D, d dog voiced alveolar plosive
b B, b butcher, bed voiced bilabial plosive
00 Þ, þ butcher + y sound to next vowel
ʧ C, c church voiceless postalveolar affricate
ʝ J, j jerk voiced palatal fricative
p P, p push, put voiceless bilabial plosive
k K, k kill, cut voiceless velar plosive
f F, f farm voiceless labiodental fricative
l L, l lake alveolar lateral approximant
Q, q queen, quit labial-velar stop
m M, m mother bilabial nasal
n N, n never alveolar nasal
ɹ R, r real, revolution alveolar approximant
s S, s slice, song voiceless alveolar fricative
z Z, z zebra voiced alveolar fricative
ʃ Š, š show, shop voiceless postalveolar fricative
Ʒ Ž, ž pleasure, vision voiced postalveolar fricative
ð Ð, ð this, the voiced dental fricative
t T, t tin, tea voiceless alveolar plosive
v V, v valor voiced labiodental fricative
h H, h heart, head voiceless glottal fricative
w W, w west labial-velar approximant
j Y, y yes palatal approximant
ks X, x mix, fix voiceless velar stop + voiceless alveolar fricative

Vowels[]

IPA
Letter
Examples
Description
eI E, e bay, okay
ɑ A, a father open back unrounded vowel
æ Æ, æ trap, bath near-open front unrounded vowel
i I, i elope, be close front unrounded vowel
o O, o open close-mid back rounded vowel
u U, u loose close back rounded vowel
ɛ é every, met open-mid front unrounded vowel
ɪ í fit near-close near-front unrounded vowel
ɐ ú under near-open central vowel

Diphthongs[]

Coming Soon

Grammar[]

Nouns[]

Main article: Nouns

Gender[]

There are three genders

  • Masculine — indicated by word-final /a/, /e/ and sometimes /æ/
  • Feminine — indicated by word-final /i/
  • Neuter — indicated by word final /u/ or /o/; /o/ endings are irregular, but treated as /u/
GENDER EXAMPLES
Word Shaelic Gender
Man Nata –a (mas.)
Woman Nati –i (fem.)
Table Fobu –u (neuter)
Idiot, Moron Stolo –o (neuter)
Boot Vete –e (mas.)
Sandal Veti –i (fem.)
Shoe (generic) Vetu –u (neuter)

Note: The Shaelic neuter gender, indicated by /o/ and /u/, evolved with the regular loss of word-final /n/ from its mother language, Deçeān.

Number[]

There are three number indicators

  • Singular — no change
  • Definite — add –m (Used when quantity is known or declared)
DEFINITE NUMBER EXAMPLES
Quantity Shaelic
Two Men Sa Natam
Two Women Sa Natim
Two Tables Sa Fobum
Four Boots Lei Vetem
Four Sandals Lei Vetim
Four Shoes Lei Vetum
  • Indefinite — add –s (Used when quantity is unknown or undetermined)
INDEFINITE NUMBER EXAMPLES
General Quantity Shaelic
Men Natas
Women Natis
Tables Fobus
Boots Vetes
Sandals Vetis
Shoes (generic) Vetus

Case[]

All nouns reside in the nominative case and are not declined when acting as subjects.

  • Accusative — “(something done) to the object”
  • Genitive — simple possession
  • Dative — “to the (object)”, “for the (object)”
  • Ablative — source of an action or a movement: “from the (object)”, “from a (object)”
  • Instrumental — how something is done or carried out; “by (object)” or “with (object)”
  • Locative — “at (object)”; “in (object)” or “on (object)”
  • Associative — “for the (object)”; “for a (object)”
  • Illative — “into the (object); “into a (object)”; “onto the (object)”; “onto a (object)”

Shaelic noun declensions are ordered and highly standardized.

SINGULAR DECLENSIONS
Singular Masculine Feminine Neuter
Dative –ða –ði –ðu
Accusative –na –ni –nu
Genitive –ta –ti –tu
Ablative –ma –mi –mu
Locative –pa –pi –pu
Instrumental –ga –gi –gu
Associative –ra –ri –ru
Illative –da –di –du
PLURAL DECLENSIONS
Singular Masculine Feminine Neuter
Dative –ðas/–m –ðis/–m –ðus/–m
Accusative –nas/–m –nis/–m –nus/–m
Genitive –tas/–m –tis/–m –tus/–m
Ablative –mas/–m –mis/–m –mus/–m
Locative –pas/–m –pis/–m –pus/–m
Instrumental –gas/–m –gis/–m –gus/–m
Associative –ras/–m –ris/–m –rus/–m
Illative –das/–m –dis/–m –dus/–m

Pronouns[]

Main article: Pronouns

Coming Soon

Articles[]

Definite Article[]

The definite article must agree with its subject in both gender and number, but not case. Note that definite articles make no distinction between definite and indefinite plural and that there is no specified plural.

DEFINITE ARTICLE
Quantity Masculine Feminine Neuter
Singular Ma Mi Mu
Plural Mas Mis Mus
DEFINITE ARTICLE EXAMPLES
Example Shaelic
The man Ma nata
The woman Mi nati
The table Mu fobu
The men Mas natas
The women Mis natis
The tables Mus fobus
The four Men Mas lei natam
The four women Mis lei natim
The four tables Mus lei fobum

Indefinite Article[]

Indefinite articles must agree with their subjects in both gender and number, but not case. Note that there is no specified plural.

INDEFINITE ARTICLE
Quantity Masculine Feminine Neuter
Singular Da Di Du
Plural Das Dis Dus
INDEFINITE ARTICLE EXAMPLES
Example Shaelic
A man Da Nata
A woman Di Nati
A table Du Fobu
Few/Some men Das Natas
Few women Dis Natis
Some tables Dus Fobus

Demonstratives[]

This, That, These, Those
The demonstrative indicator, unlike definite and indefinite articles, is used regardless of noun case or gender, and are not declined. There are two types: specified and restricted. Specified demonstratives best approximate to this (in the singular) and these (in the plural); restricted demonstratives best approximate to that (in the singular) and those (in the plural).

DEMONSTRATIVES
Type Singular Plural
Specified Gan Gas
Restricted Bél Bés

Using Demonstratives[]

Definite articles are used only with the nominative; they are implied in all other cases. Indefinite articles are used with all noun cases to make clearer or more specific distinctions.

DEMONSTRATIVE EXAMPLES
Example Shaelic
With these men Gan nataga
That woman’s garden Bél natiti setrosi
For this man Gan natara
From those women Bés natimi
Those men Bés natas
Those women Bés natis
Those tables Bés fobus
This sword Gan Kira
This sword’s blade Gan kirata kire
I know those men Bés natanas ta mage.
I know these women Bés natinis ta mage.

Nominative Rule[]

In some phrases, statements, or expressions which article to use may not be readily apparent, for example:

  • Treaty of Asper – Culomi Aspúrara

The above phrase has both masculine and feminine elements. Culomi (treaty) is feminine, and Aspúrara (of Asper) is the associative case for the noun Asper with masculine declension. Is Mi or Ma used? In these cases, articles simply follow their nominative’s gender.

The Nominative Rule states that in all instances where article gender is unclear, they will always take the gender of undeclined nouns (nouns in the nominative).

  • The Treaty of Asper – Mi Culomi Aspúrara not Ma Culomi Aspúrara

Verbs[]

Main article: Verbs

Coming Soon

Adjectives[]

Main article: Adjectives

Coming Soon

Conjunctions[]

Main article: Conjunctions

Coming Soon

Prepositions[]

Main article: Prepositions

Coming Soon

The Elucidative[]

Main article: Elucidative

Coming Soon

Sub-Clauses[]

Main article: Sub-Clauses

Coming Soon

Vocabulary[]

Numerials[]

Numeration is an Octal (base-8) system. This means that numbers run in 8-digit series (0-7, 10-17, 20-27, etc.), and not 10-digit series (0-9, 10-19, etc.). The system originally developed due to the strong cultural aversion Shaels have to the thumb, thus only the four fingers of each hand were reckoned, giving a total of eight digits.

IMPORTANT DISTINCTION: Unless otherwise noted, all numbers appearing in this section are listed in Shaelic values, not decimal values, ex: 144 is not the base-10 value 12*12, but the Shaelic numerial 144.

Cardinal Numbers[]

Below is a list of the common cardinal numbers 0-7.

CARDINAL NUMBERS (0-7)
Number Shaelic
0 Su
1 Dei
2 Sa
3 Zue
4 Lei
5 Doe
6 Ðu
7 Hi
NUMBER TABLES
# Digit x8(1) x64(2) x512(3) x4,096(4) x32,768(5) x262,144(6) x2,097,152(7)
0 Su Su Su Su Su Su Su Su
1 Dei Liu Age Pau Trae Oed Pio Greme
2 Sa Liusa Agesa Pausa Traesa Oedsa Piosa Gremesa
3 Zue Liuzue Agezue Pauzue Traezue Oedzue Piozue Gremezue
4 Lei Agekla Paukla Traekla Oedkla Piokla Gremekla Iðekla
5 Doe Liudoe Agedoe Paudoe Traedoe *Oedoe Piodoe Gremedoe
6 Ðu Liuðu Ageðu Pauðu Traeðu Oedðu Pioðu Gremeðu
7 Hi Liuhi Agehi Pauhi Traehi Oedhi Piohi Gremehi

* take note of the special spelling and pronunciation [oi:doi]

Writing the Numbers
Each column on the table above is simply a placeholder (much like 246 represents the 100s, 10s, and 1s places in a base-10 system). Numbers can be written simply by finding the desired number in the column and writing it down, highest number first.

Two things important to remember:

  • The number written will be a octal number and not a decimal number; and,
  • Any number drawn from the table cannot have a place value above seven, i.e. writing the number 999 is not possible from the table above (it can, however, be converted from a decimal number into a octal number).
NUMBER EXAMPLES
Shaelic Number Decimal Number
liuðu:sa 62
pauzue:su:liu:dei 3,011
age:liusa:zue 123
trae:pauhi:paukla:liuðu:zue 17,563
agedoe:liuhi:lei 574
oed:oedkla:pauðu:agehi:liusa:su 146,720

Ordinal Numbers[]

Ordinal numbers are created by affixing the suffix –za directly to the number being ordinalized. Below is a list of the numbers 1-7 as ordinals. Su (zero) has no ordinal value. All other ordinal numbers are created in the same manner.

ORDINAL NUMBERS
Number Ordinal
1 Deiza
2 Saza
3 Zueza
4 Leiza
5 Doeza
6 Ðuza
7 Hiza

When working with higher numbers, the ordinalizer is affixed to the end of the lowest number.

  • maeoza — ‘12th’
  • liusa:deiza — ‘21st’
  • liuhi:zueza — ‘73rd’
  • age:liusa:deiza — ‘121st’

Ordinal numbers appear before the nouns they modify:

  • Maeoza losa Qiolisara — ‘12th day of Spring’
  • Leiza losana Kædiunara tiulosa æne — ‘Today is the fourth day of Fall’

Derivational Morphology[]

Coming Soon

Naming Conventions[]

See also: Shaelic Names

Given Names[]

Known as the Deizafoa. Given names are mostly derived from words of the language, cultural heroes, and religious icons.

Patronymic[]

Known as the Besafoa. The patronymic is simply the father’s first name plus one of following four affixes:

PATRONYMIC AFFIXES
Affix Approx. Meaning
–avasa "Son of", "the Male Child of"
–ivisi "Daughter of", "the Female Child of"
–ovosa "Bastard Son of", "the Male Bastard Child of"
–ovosi "Bastard Daughter of", "the Female Bastard Child of"

Any son or daughter born out of marriage is considered Vosu (≈ “a bastard”). This also includes children brought into a marriage by the new wife, either from previous marriages or relationships. Note that identification as vosu is not necessarily considered demeaning in Shaelic culture.

Surnames[]

Known as the Foatiu. The surname is comprised the Hunoada Jabomu (descendancy indicator) Pada (male) or Pidi (female), plus the family name. When a child marries, the hunoada jabomu changes, depending on the comparative ages of the couple. If the female is younger, she takes the new indicator Pisi and her husband’s surname, indicating she has married into her husband’s family. Conversely, if the male happens to be younger, he takes the new indicator Pasa and his wife’s surname, indicating he has married into his wife’s family.

DESCENDANCY INDICATORS
Indicator Approx. Meaning
Pada Male child of
Pidi Female child of
`Pasa Male (married younger)
Pisi Female (married younger)

Name Formats[]

There are three typical formats for names in the language: Long Formal, Short Formal, Common Formal, and Common.

Long Formal Name
Known as the Paezada Aerfoa. The long formal format is simply the four parts of the naming structure:

Given Name + Patronymic + Descendancy Indicator + Surname

The long formal name format will be the format used in official and government documents and other formal documentation.

LONG FORMAL NAMING FORMAT EXAMPLES
Shaelic Name Meaning
Garrétt Dalíðavasa Pada Kohnn Garrétt son of Dalíth of the family Kohnn
Tuensae Daliðivisi Pidi Kohnn Tuensae daughter of Dalíth of the family Kohnn
Famosar Dišumovosa Pada Galonin Famosar bastard of Dishum of the family Galonin
Ošuyani Telhamovosi Pisi Fraemac Oshuyani bastard daughter of Telham married into the family Fraemac

Short Formal Name
Known as the Paezienada Aerfoa. A short way to still address an individual formally is to use the person’s given name and Patronymic. This is the preferred way for employers to address their employees, for example.

SHORT FORMAL NAMING FORMAT EXAMPLES
Shaelic Name Meaning
Garrétt Dalíðavasa Garrétt, son of Dalíth
Tuensae Dalíðivisi Tuensae, daughter of Dalíth
Famosar Dišumovosa Famosar, bastard of Dishum
Ošuyani Telhamovosi Ošuyani bastard daughter of Telham

Common Informal Name
Known as the Aerienfoa. The common formal name is the common way of referring to someone in a more informal setting is to use the individual’s given name and surname.

  • Garrett Kolnn (m.)
  • Tuensae Gravost (f.)
  • Loeko Þonopesof (m.)
  • Staed Traciji (m.)
  • Kovisa Ayesse (m.)
  • Masaroð Maspúrdar (m.)
  • Diusui Trél (f.)
  • Hiukli Tauféu (f.)
  • Klétil Aecohea (f.)
  • Cinirsi Súrivisi (f.)

Lexicon[]

Coming Soon