Gandal Grammar
Gandal is a fusional language. The word order is subject-verb-object (SVO). Nouns and pronouns are declined for case and number, adjectives and adverbs are inflected for six forms of comparison, and verbs are conjugated for tense, mood, and polarity, with a periphrastic passive construction.
Nouns
In Gandal, nouns decline for both case and number. Nouns are classified based on animacy into animate (living beings) and inanimate (non-living entities), and further categorized into two classes: Order and Chaos. Each subtype has specific patterns of inflection, with some variations within each subtype based on whether the noun begins or ends in a consonant or a vowel.
Animate nouns
Animate nouns feature two cases: nominative/oblique and accusative. The Order class, exemplified by nouns such as mæk ("eagle"), angzaw ("guard"), and irin ("duck"), inflects in the following way:
| mæk ("eagle") | angzaw ("guard") | irin ("duck") | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | |
| Nominative/Oblique | mæk | mækma | angzaw | angzawma | irin | arima |
| Accusative | imæk | imækma | yangzaw | yangzawma | zhirin | yarima |
Chaos nouns have distinct prefixing patterns. Examples, including gol ("ghost") and ining ("child"), illustrate this:
| gol ("ghost") | ining ("child") | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | |
| Nominative/Oblique | gol | yahol | ining | zhining |
| Accusative | iyol | yahol | zhining | zhining |
Examples
Here are some examples featuring animate nouns:
- Angzaw gajazan zhining. ("The guard calls to the child.")
- Ining gajazan yangzaw. ("The child calls to the guard.")
Inanimate nouns
Inanimate nouns have a unique nominative form. In effect, they display ergative marking, which uses the ending -an, derived from the Veda word on, meaning "true" or "real." The adoption of the -an ending traces back to historical usage when speakers appended on after an inanimate noun acting as the subject in a transitive sentence, signifying actually. Over time, this evolved into an mandatory ergative ending. This resulted in the creation of an oblique case, which was used in non-accusative, non-ergative contexts, from the previous basic form. Examples within the Order class, such as fiyan ("sun"), shiman ("jewel"), and angan ("shield"), demonstrate this:
| fiyan ("sun") | shiman ("jewel") | angan ("shield") | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | |
| Ergative | fiyan | ufiyan | shiman | ushiman | angan | ulangan |
| Oblique | fi | ufi | shem | ushem | ang | ulang |
| Accusative | afi | hufi | ashem | hushem | hang | hulang |
Chaos class inanimate nouns, like jiyan ("belly"), chaman ("cloud"), and awdhan ("whip"), show similar patterns:
| jiyan ("belly") | chaman ("cloud") | awdhan ("whip") | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | |
| Ergative | jiyan | yajiyan | chaman | yachaman | awdhan | yudhan |
| Oblique | ji | yaji | cham | yacham | udh | yudh |
| Accusative | iji | iyaji | icham | iyacham | yudh | yudh |
Examples
Here are some examples using an inanimate noun:
- Angzaw gajazan icham. ("The guard calls to the cloud.")
- Chaman gajazan yangzaw. ("The cloud calls to the guard.")
Sentences with intransitive verbs are given for further illustration:
- Angzaw gathunan. ("The guard is leaving.")
- Ining gathunan. ("The child is leaving.")
- Cham gathunan. ("The cloud is leaving.")
In the previous examples, three different case forms of of chaman ("cloud") can be seen, depending on whether its the subject of a transitive verb, the object of a transitive verb or the subject of an intransitive verb.
Noun possession
To indicate possession, the possessed noun is put in the oblique case and placed before the possessor.
Pronouns
Personal pronouns in Gandal are similar to those in Veda. They decline like animate order nouns, and are summarized in the following table:
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| First Person | chun ("I") | min ("we") |
| Second Person | sa ("you") | sama ("you all") |
| Third Person | lin ("she, he, it") | homa ("they") |
The -ma suffix, shared with nouns, originates from the Veda word mem, meaning "all."
Adjectives
Adjectives in Gandal share inflectional categories with those in Veda, though they have evolved from verbose expressions into inflections. The following examples illustrate the inflectional patterns for the adjectival forms of comparison:
| Consonant-Final | Vowel-Final | |
|---|---|---|
| Plain Adjective | il ("bright") | zhu ("large") |
| Equative | ilyu ("as bright") | zhuyu ("as large") |
| Comparative | ilhar ("brighter") | zhuhar ("larger") |
| Superlative | ilhorma ("brightest") | zhahorma ("largest") |
| Contrastive | ungilhar ("less bright") | unzhuhor ("less large") |
| Sublative | ungilhorma ("least bright") | unzhahorma ("least large") |
Adverbs
Adverbs in Gandal have the same inflectional categories for comparison as adjectives, and they are as follows:
| Consonant-Final | Vowel-Final | |
|---|---|---|
| Plain Adverb | ilu ("brightly") | zhuvu ("largely") |
| Equative | ilyuvu ("as brightly") | zhuyuvu ("as largely") |
| Comparative | ilharu ("more brightly") | zhuharu ("more largely") |
| Superlative | ilhormu ("most brightly") | zhahormu ("most largely") |
| Contrastive | ungilharu ("less brightly") | unzhuhoru ("less largely") |
| Sublative | ungilhormu ("least brightly") | unzhahormu ("least largely") |
The -(v)u suffix, derived from the Veda word vukh, meaning "full," is used to form these adverbial forms.
Verbs
The basic word order in Gandal is subject-verb-object (SVO). Verbs in Gandal have three conjugations: past, non-past, and imperative. They also change form based on sentence polarity. Like in Veda, verbs lack agreement. Additionally, Gandal verbs feature a prolix passive construction.
Active forms
| Vowel-Initial Consonant-Final |
Consonant-Initial Vowel-Final | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-Past | Positive | ganagan ("comes") | gayawnan ("goes") |
| Negative | ganægtha ("doesn't come") | gayawtha ("doesn't go") | |
| Past | Positive | nahagan ("came") | nayawnan ("went") |
| Negative | nahagtha ("didn't come") | nayawtha ("didn't go") | |
| Imperative | Positive | æg ("come") | yaw ("go") |
| Negative | æg thu ("don't come") | yaw thu ("don't go") | |
The suffix -tha comes from the Veda verb tso, meaning "to leave."
Passive forms
| Vowel-Initial Consonant-Final |
Consonant-Initial Vowel-Final | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-Past | Positive | gaho na hagan | gaho n'ayawnan |
| Negative | gaho na hægtha | gaho n'ayawtha | |
| Past | Positive | naho na hagan | naho n'ayawnan |
| Negative | naho na hægtha | naho n'ayawtha | |
| Imperative | Positive | hagan ho | ayawnan ho |
| Negative | hagan ho thu | ayawnan ho thu | |
The origins of these forms can be traced back to Veda, with the ho coming from kho ("take"), ga from gǝn, and na from nǝkh. The presence of na is somewhat mysterious but is presumed to be for euphony.
Predicate adjectives
Predicate adjectives (e.g. "The shield is large" or "Be happy!") in Gandal take their own conjugations. Examples include:
| Vowel-Initial Consonant-Final |
Consonant-Initial Vowel-Final | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-Past | Positive | aylan ("is bright") | zhunan ("is large") |
| Negative | iltha ("isn't bright") | zhutha ("isn't large") | |
| Past | Positive | agaylan ("was bright") | azhunan ("was large") |
| Negative | agiltha ("wasn't bright") | azhutha ("wasn't large") | |
| Imperative | Positive | zhil ("be bright") | izhu ("be large") |
| Negative | zhil thu ("don't be bright") | izhu thu ("don't be large") | |