Semhudi

Semhudi (sɛm.u.ɾi) is a language with a rich culture in the nation of Tortuga. It may be connected to the old Amaniti language of Valondor, but is now used as the official language of the Church of Garfism, declaration by Luke Greencoat. Semhudi is mainly spoken in Deparja and Greenstem, but it also spoken in the rest of Barataria. The language is featured in three out the twelve names of the boroughs of Felesia i.e. Pifiki, Fovaejos, and Iosiat. In Semhudi's early days, it was called Stemoshudi, but was later simplified to Semhudi after gender loss and other minor changes.

Proto-Semhudi
Without too much detail, Proto-Semhudi was quite complicated in terms of noun cases, noun gender, and plurality. Nouns in Proto-Semhudi used to have 8 cases compared the 4 present in Modern Semhudi. Nominative, Genitive, Dative, Accusative, Ablative, Elative, Vocative, and Transitive. Elative, Vocative, and Transitive fell out of use. Nouns and verbs have 4 types of plurality: Singular, Dual, Plural, and Superplural, all which stayed throughout Semhudi's history. Adding onto that, nouns were divided into their respective 3 genders: Masculine, Feminine, and Neuter. Because there was no line between what was feminine, masculine, and neuter, the concept fell out of use, leaving Modern Semhudi with no more gender. Gender later evolved into animacy. In total, nouns had 96 endings, later being simplified to 68.

Pronounciations
The orthographic spelling "ii" representing /aɪ/ evolved because of the Pavlovism religion that dominates Neoran's, although it originated from Aurora. In Pavlovism, The Timii Rite and the Sabii Rite is pronounced like /tɪmai/ and /sæbai/. This rule carried over to Semhudi and eventually was replaced to "ii" but Neoran officials in Deparja. After effecting the people, and even schools, the "ii" spelling has been used ever since.

The orthographic spelling "rl" representing /d̪͡ð/ or /d̪/ evolved because of the pronunciation of the "l" sound in Felesian which is pronounced as /ð/ through evolution. This is the only instance in both Neoran and Felesian that the "l" is pronounced as /ð/ because in Neoran, the "l" is pronounced as /l/. Because of the seemingly odd consonant combination of "rl," the "r" was simplified to the /d/ sound and the "l," as previously said, became pronounced as /ð/. This combination allows for Semhudi's most unique spelling of "rlorrl," as it is pronounced like /d̪ɔd̪͡ð/.

The /ɻ˔/ sound was adopted into Semhudi because of the close ties with pirate talk. The /ɻ˔/ sound is the mix of the pirate talk sound of /ɹɣ/ in "Arghhh!" and the /ð̠/ sound of Felesian Semhudi.

Grammar
The word order of Semhudi is Subject-Verb-Object (SVO), similar to Traveler's Tongue. Adjectives fall before nouns in all instances. Because articles are attached to the animate and inanimate nouns, they all always before the noun. Instead of saying "The orange cat," you would say "Orange the+cat."

Semhudi has a distinction between animacy and inanimacy. In Proto-Semhudi, this distinction was present with gender. There were three genders: Masculine, Feminine, and Neuter. Over time, most animate and divine nouns were used in the masculine cases while inanimate nouns, including animals, were used with the feminine and neuter cases. Even after gender formed into animacy, animate nouns split into two parts: nouns and divine nouns. In order for a noun to be animate, it must be referring to people, Garfist items, sun, moon, sky, days, body parts, and minor exceptions. To be a divine noun, it must be a place, Garfist saint/character. In order for nouns to be inanimate, they must refer to animals or object, ideas, and concepts.

Divine Nouns
Divine nouns, unlike other nouns, can not have any articles placed on them.

Reflexive Verbs
In order to have a sentence with a reflexive verb. you must remove the subject and lengthen the first vowel in the object, as they are the same thing.

Example: I love myself = Fjò oosm. (love 1st,sing.,masc.)

Moods
If one mood is inflicted in a verb, the ending is suffixed. When there are multiple, the mood endings become their own word.

Suffixed:

Example: Do I love myself? Fjeh oosm.

Example: Love myself! Fjiir oosm.

Combined:

Example: Can I love myself? Fjò ehez oosm.

Example: Let me love myself! Fjò iirez oosm.

Exclamatory Mood
The exclamatory mood implies an command. To have a command in Semhudi, just add -iir at the end of the verb.

Interrogative Mood
The interrogative mood implies a question. To have a question in Semhudi, just add -eh at the end of the verb.

Permissive Mood
The permissive mood implies permission being given. It must be paired with another mood in its own word. To have ask for permission in Semhudi, just add -ez at the end of the ending.

Formality
If you are ever speaking to a much higher rank than you, its polite to add “eth” to the end of the sentence and add -re at the end of any verbs.

Informal:

Why did you declare war on them? Sim vliirleh sinm.

Formal:

Why did you declare war on them? Sim vliirlehre sinm eth.

Negation
In order to negate almost all verbs, add the prefix den- before the verb that did not happen.

Example: They did not fight- Zim denfašdit

There is an exception to this though. If you are negating the verb "te" ("to be"), you must you the suffix "-ne."

Example: I am not there- Osm tene joznò. (Osene joznò.)

Adjectives
Adjectives in Semhudi is the least complex part of the language, as they take no inflections neither at the beginning or ends of the words. Adjectives are placed before their nouns they are affecting in all cases.

Adverbs
Adverbs always go after adjectives. For example, if you were to say "very good" in Travelers' Tongue, you would put the adverb and then the adjective. In Semhudi, you would say "Pe-boli," literally translating to "good-very."

Nominalization
Nominalization is like turning action words (verbs) or describing words (adjectives) into things or objects (nouns). It helps us talk about actions, qualities, or ideas as if they are stuff we can see or touch. So, instead of saying "being cool is great," you can say "coolness is great," treating "cool" like a thing you can hold. It's a way to make writing shorter and explain things better. The key to using this part of language is with the simple yet complex word, "až." Use of this aspect of the language is explained easiest in the following:

With Subject, With Adverb

He expresses a lot of coolness.

"Pe-boli osom až te pe-boli."

Pe #1- Meaning cool. Used to tell reader that coolness is being expressed by him.

Boli- Adverb meaning very, or, in this case, a lot.

Osom- Meaning he. The subject.

Až- Nominalization marker. Used to tell reader that the upcoming adjective, after the verb, is being expressed by him.

Te- Linking verb meaning is.

Pe- Adjective meaning cool.

Boli- Adverb meaning very, or, in this case, a lot.

Without Subject, With Adverb

A lot of coolness is great.

"Pe-boli-až te pe."

Nominalization on Adjective of the Direct Object

It allows us greatness.

"Y òivzamen pe kozmusom až y pe."

It allows (great) we(superplural accusative) (nominalization market) (verb filler) great(ness)

The first instance of "y" is used for the word "it."

The second instance of "y" is used for the placeholder of the verb that isn't there.

Nominalized Adjective Taking Inflections

You, my children, are the goodness from the badness.

"Pe izm, t'ladus osmto, až te t'pe-ife vrò t'ov."

T'pe-ife = The great-(inanimate acc. singular ending)

Inflections on nominalized adjectives are hyphenated.

Evidentiality
Evidentiality is present in Semhudi, and is often used in declarative sentences to make a point. Evidentiality in Semhudi is expressed by a phrase at the end of the clause or sentences. Although many types of evidentiality could exist in languages, there are only two in Semhudi. If you know American slang, you definitely hear "on God" or "for real" a lot, and you'll definitely hear the Semhudi slang equivalent through evidentiality as well.

Although it's optional, the exclamatory mood is often added to sentences

Witnessed
If you witness something, you saw it, and you can report it to someone first hand. If you did see something first hand, just add "sa y" to the very end of the clause or sentence. Reminder, people may only use "sa y" if they are trying to make a firm point.

I just saw the flying ship.- Osm spiith dvizen t'vethife.

I really did just see the flying ship!- Osm spiithiir dvizen t'vethife sa y!

Nonwitnessed
If you did not witness something, you didn't see it. If you did not see something first hand, just add "d'sa y" to the very end of the clause or sentence. Reminder, people may only use "d'sa y" if they are trying to make a firm point.

I did not just see the flying ship.- Osm denspiith dvizen t'vethife.

I really did not just see the flying ship!- Osm denspiithiir dvizen t'vethife d'sa y!

Articles
Articles are present in Semhudi. Instead of being their own words, they are prefixes: t’. T’ is the only article, used definitely and indefinitely. Before a vowel, like in T’Ezòdii, is pronounced like the ejective alveolar stop, like in Georgian. Before a consonant, like the T’Fini, is pronounced te. Unlike in English where you would state the before the adjective and the noun, it is just before the noun, like in Harti t’Garfian.

"Y"
If there must be a placeholder/unknown for a pronoun, "y" is used.

It is also used as a placeholder for a verb in nominalization.

Example:

It allows us greatness.

Y òivzamen pe kozmusom až y pe.

It allows (great) we(superplural accusative) (nominalization market) (verb filler) great(ness)

The first instance of "y" is used for the word "it."

The second instance of "y" is used for the placeholder of the verb that isn't there.

Affixes
The suffix "-yč" can only be used is the word is unrelated to a place. For example, I could not say "Ose Felesiyč." because even though the suffix describes place of origin, language, and ethnicity, it is from a place. You can say "nekyč" because "nekyč" does not come from a place called "nek."

Relevance of Garfield
Many idioms are used in reference of Garfield in Semhudi, as it is the main language for the church of Garfism, as well as most speakers of Semhudi are Garfism.

Example: Although the weather was cold and the wind was strong, they decided to go hiking in the rugged mountains. : Zui osom avaxo etònò òndi erleny t'gel teot, sinm fačožo of y drevump na ytò t'viiksin.

"Osom avaxo etònò" does not translate to the weather was cold. It translates to "He performed cold weather." On the other hand, "Erleny t'gel teot" does translate to "The wind was strong."

Loanwords
Loanwords, like in all natural languages, exist. Although Semhudi originated from Amaniti, most words are not from Amaniti. In fact, most loanwords are from Ejzndel, a language spoken in Tengalii Ejzn Kajzerryk.

Ejzndel Loanwords

Loanwords from Ejzndel are usually not modified to an unintelligible point. For example, the Semhudi word for map, "amii" comes from the Ejzndel word "hamá," also meaning map, or plan. A less obvious example is the word "vlaglin," meaning flame. The part of the word coming from Ejzndel is "glin," which comes from "klin," meaning little. The other part of the word "vlare," means fire. In all, "vlaglin" means "little fire."

Amaniti Loanwords

A large number of loanwords are from Amaniti are the numbers.

Sentences
English

Semhudi

Literal Translation

Although the weather was cold and the wind was strong, they decided to go hiking in the rugged mountains.

Zui osom avaxo etònò òndi erleny t'gel teot, sinm fačožo of dreviv na ytò t'viiksin.

-

We must soon perform a careful flame in order to soon control this bush fire.

Kosm avaxumpiir veliv t'vlaglinò ze y aglinump vlare šhorbipa o jizto.

We perform-soon-must careful the flame(acc) in order to (placeholder) contain-soon bush fire(gen) of this(gen).

I really did not just see the flying ship!

Osm denspiithiir dvizen t'vethife d'sa y!

I(masc.) (not)see(just)(exc.) fly the'ship(acc) (not)(evidentiality markers).

It allows us greatness.

Y òivzamen pe kozmusom až y pe.

It allows (great) we(superplural accusative) (nominalization market) (verb filler) great(ness)

Eblian Dialect
The Eblian Dialect of Semhudi is a mix between Semhudi and Taernosi, a language spoken in Taernos, Tortuga. Not too long ago, the town of Apple Harbor was sold to Felesia. In the early days of Apple Harbor, it did not have its own identity yet. That changed when a Taernosi leader implemented his own culture into the town from across the peninsula. The language was adopted too. Now that Apple Harbor is inside of Felesia, Semhudi and Taernosi have been forced to mix together due to Semhudi's dominance over the region. The word Eblian comes from the Semhudi term, "ebl," meaning "apple." Over the many years of Semhudi influence, the Eblian Dialect has steadily been decreasing as Standard Semhudi dominates literature, school, signs, and common day-to-day life.

Verbs
Unlike standard Semhudi, there is no distinction between transitive and intransitive verbs.

Grinén Dialect
The Grinén Dialect (Dialect of Grinem) is a more formal and more "holier" sounding dialect spoken up north in the towns of Greenstem and ShrineOfTheDawn (Saint Alesia's Cathedral). After Semhudi became the official language of the Garfist Church, by order of Arbiter Luke Greencoat, the many Garfist officials tweaked the language to sound "holier," or less harsh, more delicate, and peaceful the ear, far from Neoran, and closer to the sound of Felesian. The word Grinén comes from the Semhudi term, "Grinem" meaning "Greenstem."

The Grinén Dialect makes the return of "ae," a letter combination that was in Proto-Semhudi, but later left the Standard and Eblian dialects. Instead of saying the Standard "Hesm," (thank you) you would instead say "Haesmé" (close to the Proto-Semhudi "Haesm")

Consonants
Grinén removed the "č" from the phonology, so it is substituted with the "š" sound.

The lateral approximate returns.

The NSA Dental is also removed due to difficulty to pronounce for non-speakers, so the "th" sound replaces it.

The NSF Dental becomes voicless.

The "v" sound is removed, so it is substituted with the "f" sound.

Vowels
The "ò" is replaced by a new "ó" sound.

The "y" is replaced by a new "í" letter.

The "e" is replace by a new "é" letter.

The "e" sound returns as "e" and "ae."

The "o" has a new mid sound.

The "ó" at the end of any word is replaced with "é", including for noun and verb markings.

Articles
Articles work the same way as they do in the Standard Dialect, except that sound and are spelled differently. Instead of the Standard t', like in T'akjò (the water,) the Grinén dialect switched it to l', like in L'aké (the water). Instead of the variation between /tɛ/ and the implosive /t'/, also instances of articles replace the first consonant with the /l/ sound. If the word starts with a vowel, then the /l/ is just added to the beginning. Yes, they are still definite articles, but their orthography and phonology is completely different.

Difference from Standard Semhudi
The /u/ before any labial consonants turns into /y/. For example,

Most consonant clusters are split apart by "é."


 * sm → smé
 * ths → thés
 * vl → fél (along with all other voiced consonants)

The "jé" cluster replaced by simply "é."

The "rl" spelling changed to "th."

Any voiced consonant before /l/ becomes voicless and "é" gets placed before the "l."

Phonology changes.

Odian Dialect
The Odian Dialect is a dialect of Semhudi spoken in the Akratia, but mostly in the northern parts because the south is much more influenced by the rest of Deparja. Odian comes from from the word "Odi," the evil god of Garfism, the hound, Odie. Akratia in Semhudi is Odia. Akratia got that names because The Akratian Empire once conquered Greenstem. As mockery, the stemmers began calling Akratia "Odia," the land of Odie, because it was seen as a sinful place. The dialect is the merge between Semhudi and Ancient Akratian.

Vowels
Long vowels for all words.

Diacritics
Umlaut:

Just like in Ancient Akratian, the umlaut in orthography is used to signify extended vowel length, or a doubling of a vowel.

(Ancient Akratian) Ëka → /e:ka/ (IPA)

Acute and Grave:

In Ancient Akratian when a vowel is capitalized in the middle of the word, it means that the vowel repeats after the following consonants (consonant or consonant cluster). In Odian Semhudi, this is represented by the capital vowel turning into a lowercase vowel with the acute diacritic and the duplicated vowel being added and taking the grave diacritic.

(Ancient Akratian) IshEos → Išéosè (Odian Semhudi)

Umlaut, Acute, and Grave:

If we combine the rules from the umlaut diacritic use and the acute and grave use, we can get words that end up looking like:

(Ancient Akratian) KrÄtn → Krä́tnä̀ | /kɾa:tna:/ (Odian Semhudi)

Standard Alphabet
A a- o in pot

B b- b in boy

Č č- ch is chai

D d- d in day

E e- e in bed

F f- f in fan

G g- g in got

H h- h in hat

I i- ee in see

J j- y in yam

K k- k in kit

L l- l in lad

M m- m in man

N n- n in not

O o- o in home

ò ò- oo in foot

P p- p in pat

R r- both Spanish r sounds

S s- s in sat

Š š- sh in shin

T t- t in tin

U u- oo in food

V v- v in van

W w- v in van

X x- xs (phonetic /x/ sound and then the phonetic /s/ sound)

Y y- i in fit

Z z- z in zoo

Ž ž- si in vision

Links

 * Dictionary: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1IvyLHW0WXt9vXzrzQsdEhvYBergwPKP5bnGN3RmoBxc/edit?usp=sharing
 * Formatting: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Hw_XWWNB7BSITChfSS1EXbE0KDZ0tkommp7h6_pwpoc/edit?usp=sharing
 * Dictionary (Grinén): https://docs.google.com/document/d/1y2E5qANxwRR_IBaJF6Zis_-KBcq0R8od3BwqThGdoZw/edit?usp=sharing