Istro-Romanian grammar
Encyclopedia
The grammar
of the Istro-Romanian language
shares similar grammar with other Eastern Romance languages
.
, a language that may have evolved independently, shows two distinct features:
or adjectival
. The nominal being added to nouns, and the adjectival placed before adjectives.
The nominal forms are: for masculine nouns: -l and -le, for feminine -a in the singular, and for masculine -i and feminine -le in the plural.
However, as in spoken Daco-Romanian the -l of the masculine singular definite article is dropped leaving the linking -u- vowel, e.g. DR lupul > IR lupu (the wolf), DR ursul > IR ursu (the bear), DR mielul > IR mľelu (the lamb).
The -le ending is used for all masculine singular nouns ending in -e, e.g. fråtele (the brother), sorele (the sun), cărele (the dog).
Some examples of Masculine nouns showing case
endings, nominative=accusative, genitive=dative. The vocative case is not shown as this normally corresponds with the nominative.
Feminine nouns
The -a replaces -ĕ and -e, e.g. cåsĕ > cåsa (the house), nopte > nopta (the night); however a few feminine nouns ending in a stressed -e behave differently, e.g. ste > stevu (the star), ne > nevu (the snow).
Neuter nouns behave as Masculine nouns in the singular and Feminine in the plural (sometimes known as Mixed nouns)
The forms of the adjectival article are ćela for the masculine and ćå for the feminine singular, and in the plural masculine ćeľ and feminine ćåle, e.g. ćela bur (the good one).
The masculine indefinite article is un and feminine is o. The declination of the indefinite article has disappeared. Examples: un om (a man), un cå (a horse), o misĕ (a table), o båbĕ (an old woman).
s, the masculine and feminine forms from the Latin, while the neuter form is of Slavic origin, under the syntactic influence of the use of neuters in Slavic. E.g. bur, burĕ, buro (good). The comparative
adjective is måi bur (better) and the superlative
is ćel måi bur (the best).
The adjective may precede the noun: bura zi ((the)good day), which in itself can be made definite by the change of -ĕ to -a; or follows the noun: feta muşåtĕ (the beautiful girl).
, possessive
, demonstrative
, relative
and interrogative.
e.g. m-åm ărs (I laughed), l-åi vezut (you saw him)
Possessive pronouns:
e.g. mev ćåće (my father), lui căre (his dog), ľei måie (her mother), noştri cåľ (our horses)
May also begin with ţ- or ť- e.g. ţest om (this man)
Likewise may begin with ţ- e.g. ţåle lingure (those spoons)
one: un - o
some: vrun - vro
one/a: ur - o
not a: ničur - ničurĕ
nothing: nimic
something: ćeva
other: åt - åta - åto
each: saki - saca - saco
whichever: cătcoder
19. devetprezåće
20. dovotezåće / dvadeset / dvaiset
21. dovotezåće şi ur
30. treivotezåće
40. cvårnaru
50. ćinćvotezåće
...
100. sto
101. sto şi ur
200. dovotesto
1000. miľår / tisuť / tåvžânt
Notes:
11 is composed of '1 on 10' ur-pre-zåće
20 is composed of '2 times 10' do-vote-zåće, likewise, 200 is '2 times 100' do-vote-sto
1000 miľår comes from Venetian dialect, tisuť from Slavic, and tåvžânt from German.
1st. prvi - prva
2nd. doile - dova
3rd. treile - treia
4th. påtrile - påtra
5th. ćinćile - ćinća
6th. şåsele - şåsa
7th. şåptele - şåpta
8th. osmule - osma
9th. devetile - deveta
10th. desetile - deseta
last zådni / zădăńu - zådńa
Grammar
In linguistics, grammar is the set of structural rules that govern the composition of clauses, phrases, and words in any given natural language. The term refers also to the study of such rules, and this field includes morphology, syntax, and phonology, often complemented by phonetics, semantics,...
of the Istro-Romanian language
Istro-Romanian language
Istro-Romanian is an Eastern Romance language that is still spoken today in a few villages and hamlets in the peninsula of Istria, on the northern part of the Adriatic Sea, in what is now Croatia as well as in other countries around the world where the Istro-Romanian people settled after the two...
shares similar grammar with other Eastern Romance languages
Eastern Romance languages
The Eastern Romance languages in their narrow conception, sometimes known as the Vlach languages, are a group of Romance languages that developed in Southeastern Europe from the local eastern variant of Vulgar Latin. Some classifications include the Italo-Dalmatian languages; when Italian is...
.
Morphology
The theorized evolution of Istro-Romanian from Daco-RomanianDaco-Romanian
Daco-Romanian is the term used to identify the Romanian language in contexts where distinction needs to be made between the various Eastern Romance languages...
, a language that may have evolved independently, shows two distinct features:
- Noun declination shows a rationalisation of forms: normal noun declination of Romanian has almost totally disappeared in Istro-Romanian;
- Whereas verbal inflexion is more conservative and its evolution is not so pronounced.
Nouns
The article has two forms: definite and indefinite. The definite article may be nominalNominal (linguistics)
In linguistics, a nominal is a part of speech in some languages that shares features with nouns and adjectives.- Examples :Nominals are a common feature of Indigenous Australian languages, many of which do not categorically differentiate nouns from adjectives.Some features of nominals in some...
or adjectival
Adjectival
Adjectival may refer to:* Adjective, a part of speech that modifies a noun or a pronoun* Adjectival noun or sometimes "adjectival", a noun that functions as an adjective, especially in Japanese grammar...
. The nominal being added to nouns, and the adjectival placed before adjectives.
The nominal forms are: for masculine nouns: -l and -le, for feminine -a in the singular, and for masculine -i and feminine -le in the plural.
However, as in spoken Daco-Romanian the -l of the masculine singular definite article is dropped leaving the linking -u- vowel, e.g. DR lupul > IR lupu (the wolf), DR ursul > IR ursu (the bear), DR mielul > IR mľelu (the lamb).
The -le ending is used for all masculine singular nouns ending in -e, e.g. fråtele (the brother), sorele (the sun), cărele (the dog).
Some examples of Masculine nouns showing case
Grammatical case
In grammar, the case of a noun or pronoun is an inflectional form that indicates its grammatical function in a phrase, clause, or sentence. For example, a pronoun may play the role of subject , of direct object , or of possessor...
endings, nominative=accusative, genitive=dative. The vocative case is not shown as this normally corresponds with the nominative.
- fiľ (son), fiľi (pl.)
Case Istro-Romanian Aromanian Megleno-Romanian Romanian English Nom/Acc sg. fiľu hiljlu iľiu fiul the son Gen/Dat sg. lu fiľu a hiljlui lu iľiu al fiului of/to the son Nom/Acc pl. fiľi hiljli iľii fiii the sons Gen/Dat pl. lu fiľi a hiljlor lu iľii al fiilor of/to the sons
- socru (father-in-law), socri (pl.)
Case Istro-Romanian Aromanian Megleno-Romanian Romanian English Nom/Acc sg. socru socrulu socru socrul the father-in-law Gen/Dat sg. lu socru a socrului lu socru al socrului of/to the father-in-law Nom/Acc pl. socri socri socri socrii the fathers-in-law Gen/Dat pl. lu socri a socrilor lu socri al socrilor of/to the fathers-in-law
- fråte (brother), fråţ (pl.)
Case Istro-Romanian Aromanian Megleno-Romanian Romanian English Nom/Acc sg. fråtele frate frateli fratele the brother Gen/Dat sg. lu fråtele a fratelui lu frateli al fratelui of/to the brother Nom/Acc pl. fråţ fratslji fraţili fraţii the brothers Gen/Dat pl. lu fråţ a fratslor lu fraţilor al fraţilor of/to the brothers
Feminine nouns
The -a replaces -ĕ and -e, e.g. cåsĕ > cåsa (the house), nopte > nopta (the night); however a few feminine nouns ending in a stressed -e behave differently, e.g. ste > stevu (the star), ne > nevu (the snow).
- fetĕ (girl), fete (pl.)
Case Istro-Romanian Aromanian Megleno-Romanian Romanian English Nom/Acc sg. feta feata feta fata the girl Gen/Dat sg. lu feta a featiljei lu feta al fetei of/to the girl
- muľerĕ (woman), muľere (pl.)
Case Istro-Romanian Aromanian Megleno-Romanian Romanian English Nom/Acc sg. muľera muljarea muľiarea muierea the woman Gen/Dat sg. lu muľera a muljariljei lu muľiarea al muierei of/to the woman
- ste (star), stele (pl.)
Case Istro-Romanian Aromanian Megleno-Romanian Romanian English Nom/Acc sg. stevu steao steua steaua the star Gen/Dat sg. lu stevu a steaoljei lu steua al stelei of/to the star Nom/Acc pl. stelele steale stelili stelele the stars Gen/Dat pl. lu stelele a stealilor lu stelilor al stelelor of/to the stars
Neuter nouns behave as Masculine nouns in the singular and Feminine in the plural (sometimes known as Mixed nouns)
- bråţ (arm), bråţe (pl.) - bråţu (the arm), bråţele (pl.)
- os (bone), ose (pl.) - osu (the bone), osele (pl.)
- zid (wall), zidur (pl.) - zidu (the wall), zidurle (pl.)
- plug (plough), plugur (pl.) - plugu (the plough), plugurle (pl.)
The forms of the adjectival article are ćela for the masculine and ćå for the feminine singular, and in the plural masculine ćeľ and feminine ćåle, e.g. ćela bur (the good one).
The masculine indefinite article is un and feminine is o. The declination of the indefinite article has disappeared. Examples: un om (a man), un cå (a horse), o misĕ (a table), o båbĕ (an old woman).
Adjectives
Adjectives also have three genderGrammatical gender
Grammatical gender is defined linguistically as a system of classes of nouns which trigger specific types of inflections in associated words, such as adjectives, verbs and others. For a system of noun classes to be a gender system, every noun must belong to one of the classes and there should be...
s, the masculine and feminine forms from the Latin, while the neuter form is of Slavic origin, under the syntactic influence of the use of neuters in Slavic. E.g. bur, burĕ, buro (good). The comparative
Comparative
In grammar, the comparative is the form of an adjective or adverb which denotes the degree or grade by which a person, thing, or other entity has a property or quality greater or less in extent than that of another, and is used in this context with a subordinating conjunction, such as than,...
adjective is måi bur (better) and the superlative
Superlative
In grammar, the superlative is the form of an adjective that indicates that the person or thing modified has the quality of the adjective to a degree greater than that of anything it is being compared to in a given context. English superlatives are typically formed with the suffix -est In...
is ćel måi bur (the best).
The adjective may precede the noun: bura zi ((the)good day), which in itself can be made definite by the change of -ĕ to -a; or follows the noun: feta muşåtĕ (the beautiful girl).
Pronouns
Definite pronouns can be personalPersonal pronoun
Personal pronouns are pronouns used as substitutes for proper or common nouns. All known languages contain personal pronouns.- English personal pronouns :English in common use today has seven personal pronouns:*first-person singular...
, possessive
Possessive pronoun
A possessive pronoun is a part of speech that substitutes for a noun phrase that begins with a possessive determiner . For example, in the sentence These glasses are mine, not yours, the words mine and yours are possessive pronouns and stand for my glasses and your glasses, respectively...
, demonstrative
Demonstrative
In linguistics, demonstratives are deictic words that indicate which entities a speaker refers to and distinguishes those entities from others...
, relative
Relative pronoun
A relative pronoun is a pronoun that marks a relative clause within a larger sentence. It is called a relative pronoun because it relates the relative clause to the noun that it modifies. In English, the relative pronouns are: who, whom, whose, whosever, whosesoever, which, and, in some...
and interrogative.
Personal pronouns
| Case | I | II | III | III | I | II | III |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nom. | io | tu | ie | iå | noi | voi | ieľ/iåle |
| |I | you | he | she | we | you | they | |
| Acc. | mire | tire | ăl | ăl | ne | ve | lor |
| Acc. | me/m' | te/t' | ăl/l' | o | ne/n' | ve/v' | lor |
| |me | you | him | her | us | you | them | |
| Dat. | mi/âm/m' | ţi/âţ/ţ' | âľ/ľ/lui | âľ/ľ/ľei | ni/ne/n' | vi/ve/v' | le/ľ |
| |to me | you | him | her | us | you | them |
e.g. m-åm ărs (I laughed), l-åi vezut (you saw him)
Possessive pronouns:
| Sg. Masc. | Fem. | Pl. Masc. | Fem. | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| meu/mev | me | meľ | mele | my |
| teu/tev | te | teľ | tele | your |
| seu/lui | se/ľei | seľ | sele | his/her/its |
| noştru | noştrĕ | noştri | noştre | our |
| voştru | voştrĕ | voştri | voştre | your |
| lor | lor | lor | lor | their |
e.g. mev ćåće (my father), lui căre (his dog), ľei måie (her mother), noştri cåľ (our horses)
Demonstrative pronouns
- this: ćest, ćåsta
- these: ćeşť, ćåste
May also begin with ţ- or ť- e.g. ţest om (this man)
- that: ćel, ćå
- those: ćeľ, ćåle
Likewise may begin with ţ- e.g. ţåle lingure (those spoons)
- this one: ćesta-istu, ćåsta-ista
- that one: ćela-istu, ćåista
- that other one: ćela-åt, ćå-åtĕ
- those other ones: ćeľ-åľţi, ćåle-åte
Interrogative pronouns
- who: ćire / će
- which: cåre / cårle, pl. cårli
- which one: căt
Indefinite pronouns
(M - F)one: un - o
some: vrun - vro
one/a: ur - o
not a: ničur - ničurĕ
nothing: nimic
something: ćeva
other: åt - åta - åto
each: saki - saca - saco
whichever: cătcoder
Cardinal numbers
The majority of cardinal numbers are from Latin stock, with several borrowings from the local Slavic- un/ur (M), o (F)
- doi (M), do (F)
- trei
- påtru
- ćinć / ţinţ
- şåse
- şåpte
- opt / osăn
- devet
- zåće / zeće / deset
- urprezåće / iednaist
- doiprezåće / dvanaist
- treiprezåće / trenaist
19. devetprezåće
20. dovotezåće / dvadeset / dvaiset
21. dovotezåće şi ur
30. treivotezåće
40. cvårnaru
50. ćinćvotezåće
...
100. sto
101. sto şi ur
200. dovotesto
1000. miľår / tisuť / tåvžânt
Notes:
11 is composed of '1 on 10' ur-pre-zåće
20 is composed of '2 times 10' do-vote-zåće, likewise, 200 is '2 times 100' do-vote-sto
1000 miľår comes from Venetian dialect, tisuť from Slavic, and tåvžânt from German.
Ordinal
(M - F)1st. prvi - prva
2nd. doile - dova
3rd. treile - treia
4th. påtrile - påtra
5th. ćinćile - ćinća
6th. şåsele - şåsa
7th. şåptele - şåpta
8th. osmule - osma
9th. devetile - deveta
10th. desetile - deseta
last zådni / zădăńu - zådńa