The Ygratian Language

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Introduction to the Ygratian language

The name "Ygratian" or native "Ŷgrât(ineizâl)" comes from "uwikngaruaizaol", which is Old Ygratian and means "language of the non-vikings".
Old Ygratian was spoken by a small tribe in Denmark where also the vikings lived. Both sides didn't fight each other and lived together harmonically, but there was one big difference: The "uwikngaru" had their own, isolated language. Most people also spoke Old Norse and therefore many words in Ygratian come from Old Norse and later also Danish.

Here I want to present and explain this a-priori conlang I've been creating.

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Phonology

Ygratian has 26 consonant and 14-15 vowel sounds. 24 consonants and 6 vowels also appear in English (RP). The other 10 are /χ/, /ʁ/ and /y/, /ʏ/, /u/, /e/, /ø/, /o/, /œ/, /ɐ/.

all consonants: p, b, t, d, k, ɡ, ʔ, f, v, s, z, ç, χ, ʁ, h, ts, cç, ɟʝ, m, n, ɲ, ŋ, w, l, j, ʎ
all vowels: i, ɪ, y, ʏ, ʊ, u, e, ø, o, ə, ɛ, œ, ɔ, ɐ, ɑ

Pronunciation

a - [ɐ]
â - [ɑː]
ai - [ɐɪ]; [ɐ] in second syllable
au - [ɐʊ]; [ɔ] in second syllable
b - [b]; voiceless before voiceless consonants and as final sound
c - [ts]
ch - [ç] after e, ê, ei, i, î, oi, ø, y, ŷ and as initial sound; [χ] after a, â, au, eu, o, ô, ou, u and û
d - [d]; voiceless before voiceless consonants and as final sound
dj - [ɟʝ]
e - [ɛ]; [ə] in second syllable and as final sound
ê - [eː]
ei - [ɛɪ]; [i] in second syllable
eu - [ɛʊ]; [œ] in second syllable
f - [f]
g - [g]; voiceless before voiceless consonants and as final sound
h - [h]
i - [i]
î - [iː]
j - [j]
k - [k]
l - [l]
lj - [ʎ]
m - [m]
n - [n]; [ŋ] before k and g; [m] before p and b
nj - [ɲ]
o - [ɔ]
ô - [oː]
oi - [ɔɪ]; [o] in second syllable
ou - [ɔʊ]; [ʊ] in second syllable
p - [p]
q - [ʔ]
r - [ʁ]; voiceless in syllable coda and after voiceless plosives
s - [s]
t - [t]
tj - [cç]
u - [ʊ]
û - [uː]
v - [v]; voiceless before voiceless consonants and as final sound
x - [ks]
y - [ʏ] or [y]
ŷ - [yː]
z - [z]; voiceless before voiceless consonants and as final sound

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Plural of nouns

There are 6 groups of nouns, which end in:
r, a, e, i, u, y

These groups determine how the plural is made.

Class 1: r-plural

This class is used with vowel stems ending in a, â, o, ô, u or û.

Suffix: -r

Examples:
vaja - field | vajar - fields
hâva - bird | hâvar - birds
chidikra - window | chidikrar - windows

Class 2: a-plural

This class is used with vowel stems ending in e, ê, i, î, ø, y or ŷ.

Suffix: -a

Examples:
lege - valley | legea - valleys
bî - cow | bîa - cows
gali - house | galia - houses

Class 3: e-plural

This class is used with consonant stems ending in ch, dj or tj.

Suffix: -e

Examples:
bech - duck | beche - ducks
nâdj - stick | nâdje - sticks
zâtj - chest | zâtje - chests

Class 4: i-plural

This class is used with consonant stems ending in d, l, n, r, s, t, x or z.

Suffix: -i

Examples:
gât - can | gâti - cans
zâl - tongue | zâli - tongues
volit - tower | voliti - towers

Class 5: u-plural

This class is used with consonant stems ending in a, â, e, ê, ë, o, ô, ö, u or û + b, f, m, p, v, g, k or ŋ.

Suffix: -u(n)*

Examples:
døv - wind | døvun - winds
gem - child | gemun - children
keljum - cave | keljumun - caves

*n is used if no suffix follows

Class 6: y-plural

This class is used with consonant stems ending in i, î, y or ŷ + b, f, m, p, v, g, k or ŋ.

Suffix: -y(n)*

Examples:
vâchaig - map | vâchaigyn - maps
dvig - mountain | dvigyn - mountains
sadaig - train | sadaigyn - trains

*n is used if no suffix follows

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Cases of nouns

In Ygratian cases are built out of two parts: basic case + postpositional suffix
There are 6 basic cases and 12 postpositional cases.

The to basic cases locativ and allative are used for combinations with postpositional suffixes.

Basic cases

	after consonant	after vowel
nominative	-	-
genitive	-ei	-nei
dative	-a	-na
accusative	-is	-ni
locative	-a(n)	-na(ch)
allative	-i(t)	-ni

The consonants in brackets are used another suffix beginning with a vowel follows. The n in locative is also used if no suffix follows.
Allative is never used alone.

Postpositional suffixes

case	function	suffix
inessive	in	loc. + -êa
illative	into	all. + -êa
allative	to	loc. + -us
ablative	away from	all. + -ai
abessiv	without	loc. + -ai
sublative	onto	all. + -lu
superessive	on, over, above	loc. + -lu
elative	out of	all. + -ari
perlative	motion through	loc. + -dem
terminative	to, til	all. + -ôdja
destinative	for	all. + -dan
comitative	with	loc. + -dul