Shaelic

Shaelic, known as Férocaes by the native speakers, is the official and ancestral language of the Shaelic peoples of Caelia and is primarily spoken on the island.

Diphthongs
Coming Soon

Gender
There are three genders
 * Masculine &mdash; indicated by word-final /a/, /e/ and sometimes /æ/
 * Feminine &mdash; indicated by word-final /i/
 * Neuter &mdash; indicated by word final /u/ or /o/; /o/ endings are irregular, but treated as /u/

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 &mdash; no change
 * Definite &mdash; add –m (Used when quantity is known or declared)


 * Indefinite &mdash; add –s (Used when quantity is unknown or undetermined)

Case
All nouns reside in the nominative case and are not declined when acting as subjects.
 * Accusative &mdash; “(something done) to the object”
 * Genitive &mdash; simple possession
 * Dative &mdash; “to the (object)”, “for the (object)”
 * Ablative &mdash; source of an action or a movement: “from the (object)”, “from a (object)”
 * Instrumental &mdash; how something is done or carried out; “by (object)” or “with (object)”
 * Locative &mdash; “at (object)”; “in (object)” or “on (object)”
 * Associative &mdash; “for the (object)”; “for a (object)”
 * Illative &mdash; “into the (object); “into a (object)”; “onto the (object)”; “onto a (object)”

Shaelic noun declensions are ordered and highly standardized.

Pronouns
Coming Soon

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.

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

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).

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.

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
Coming Soon

Adjectives
Coming Soon

Conjunctions
Coming Soon

Prepositions
Coming Soon

The Elucidative
Coming Soon

Sub-Clauses
Coming Soon

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.

* 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).

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.

When working with higher numbers, the ordinalizer is affixed to the end of the lowest number.
 * maeoza &mdash; ‘12th’
 * liusa:deiza &mdash; ‘21st’
 * liuhi:zueza &mdash; ‘73rd’
 * age:liusa:deiza &mdash; ‘121st’

Ordinal numbers appear before the nouns they modify:
 * Maeoza losa Qiolisara &mdash; ‘12th day of Spring’
 * Leiza losana Kædiunara tiulosa æne &mdash; ‘Today is the fourth day of Fall’

Derivational Morphology
Coming Soon

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: 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.

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.

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.

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