The Veiamic language is spoken by the various
Veiamic peoples. Though different groups have their own dialects, they are all mutually intelligible in most cases. Strong accents or dialects might make understanding more difficult, but they are more easily understood in writing. The language presented here is the dialect spoken in the
Kingdom of Kaleina.
Phonology
Veiamic uses the following orthography when Romanized.
Consonants
| Letter | Sound |
|---|
| F |
/f/ father |
| H |
/h/ hat |
| J |
/j/ yellow |
| K |
/k/ king |
| L |
/l/ long |
| M |
/m/ man |
| N |
/n/ new |
| P |
/p/ pink |
| R |
/ɹ/ rose |
| S |
/s/ same |
| T |
/t/ time |
| V |
/v/ volume |
| D |
/d/ door |
Vowels
| Letter | Sound |
|---|
| i |
/i/ cheese |
| ö |
/ø/ book |
| ä |
/æ/ cat |
| ää |
/æ:/ (sound held longer) |
| a |
/ɑ/ hot |
| aa |
/ɑ:/ (sound held longer) |
| o or oe |
/o/ note |
| u |
/u/ blue |
| uu |
/u:/ (sound held longer) |
| e |
/eɪ/ (at the end of a word) |
Diphthongs
| Letters | Sound |
|---|
| ei |
/aɪ/ time |
| ai |
At the end of a word: /aɪ/. At the start or middle of a word: /eɪ/ play |
| au |
/aʊ/ how |
Noun Morphology
| Nominative |
No affix |
| Accusative |
Prefix k(a)- |
| Dative |
Prefix s(a)- |
| Gentive |
Suffix -(i)n |
| Locative |
Prefix m(a)- |
Noun endings are also used for proper nouns, for example:
The name Akai becomes Kakai, Sakai, Akain, and Makai.
The name Hoan becomes Kahoan, Sahoan, Hoanin, and Mahoan.
Nouns do not change between singular and plural.
Possession
In most cases, the article is dropped and the word combined with its object. E.g., "The king's book" translates to
rikkellin, combining "book" (
rik) with "king" (
kel) in the genitive case.
Proper nouns do not combine, and use the word "of" (
ta) between words, with the name in the genitive case. "Kaasi's book" translates to
rik ta Kassin. This is also used for phrases of more complicated possession.
Articles
There are no definite or indefinite articles. If the number of items is unclear and this is important, numerical words are added to specify how many. The words "this" and "that" (
niin and
noa) are used to specify certain objects.
First and Second Person Pronouns
| 1st singular | 2nd informal | 2nd formal | 1st plural |
|---|
| Nom |
la /la/
I |
mo /mo/
you |
keia /ˈkaɪa/
you |
jusu /ˈjusu/ |
| Acc |
li /li/
me |
mose /ˈmose/
you |
keia /ˈkaɪa/ |
joesu /ˈjosu/ |
| Dat |
lina /ˈlina/
to me |
mona /ˈmona/
to you |
keiana /ˈkaɪˌana/ |
jusuna /ˈjusuna/ |
| Gen |
lat /lat/
mine |
moet /mot/
yours |
keiat /ˈkaɪat/ |
jusuta /ˈjusuta/ |
| Loc |
lam /lam/
in/at/by me |
moem /mom/
in/at/by you |
keiam /ˈkaɪam/ |
jusum /ˈjusum/ |
The formal 'you' is used for anyone who outranks you socially. Children always use it for adults, and adults use it for strangers who are at least a generation older than them. It is also used for people of upper classes, nobles, your boss at work, basically anyone you want to be extra polite to. Adults who are around the same age and part of the same social class use the informal 'you' with each other by default.
Third Person Pronouns
| Animate | Inanimate | A. Plural | I. Plural |
|---|
| N |
täma /tæma/ he |
vi /vi/ it |
mallo /ˈmalo/ they [people] |
ovi /ˈovi/ they [objects] |
| A |
tai /ˈtai/ him |
vi /vi/ it |
mallo /ˈmalo/ them [people] |
ovin /ˈovin/ them [objects] |
| D |
teina /ˈtaɪna/ to him |
vina /ˈvina/ to it |
mallona /ˈmalona/ they [people] |
ovina /ˈovina/ to them [objects] |
| G |
tät /tæt/ his |
vit /vit/ its |
mallot /ˈmalot/ they [people] |
ovit /ˈovit/ theirs [objects] |
| L |
tämäm /'tæmæm/ |
vem /vem/ in/at/by it |
mallam /ˈmallam/ they [people] |
ovem /ˈovem/ in/at/by them [objects] |
All people, regardless of gender, use the same pronoun in Veiamic. This pronoun is used for all people and animals things, while the other pronoun is used for inanimate objects. Some notable exceptions that typically use the animate pronoun include: fire and musical instruments.
Word Order
The basic word order is Subject (Prepositional phrase)-Object-Verb.
Verbs
All verbs end with the suffix -lai in the infinitive form. They conjugate only by tense, not first/second/third person. In all conjugations, the suffix -lai is dropped.
| Present |
No affix |
| Past |
Prefix tai(l)- |
| Future |
Prefix am(a)- |
| Imperative |
Suffix -so |
Perfect Aspect
The perfect aspect, (have slept, or has studied) is formed by adding the particle
na before the main verb in its infinitive form.
La na jältenlai (I have slept)
Progressive Aspect
The progressive aspect, (am sleeping, or is studying) is formed by adding the word "make" (lilai) before the verb in its present form.
La li jälten (I am sleeping)
Negation
Uses the auxilliary verb
mino before the main verb.
Mino is conjugated and the main verb is given as infinitive
La jälten (I sleep)
La mino jältenlai (I do not sleep)
La mino li jältenlai (I am not sleeping)
La teijälten (I slept)
La teimino jältenlai (I did not sleep)
La teimino na jältenlai (I have not slept)
Adjectives
Adjectives are placed after the noun, and usually combined with it to form longer compound words.
