Overview

Setting

NOTE: The country that I'm writing about in the following text doesn't exist, it's just a country that I've created together with this language.

The language Verdunian, or La lengua Verdunîenne, is a language which is spoken on the island of Verdunia (Verdunian: Verdunîana). Verdunia is located in the Mediterranean, south of France and very close to Corsica and Sardinia. And that's why Verdunian is so close to both French and Italian. Here's some facts about Verdunia:

Official name: La Republîque Democrática de Verdunîana (The Democratic Republic of Verdunia)

Capital: Danimerre

Size: about 32 770 sq. kilometres.

Population: about 12 000 000 (12 million)

Official languages: Verdunian (70% = 8.4 million), French (15% = 1.8 million), Italian (8% = 960 000).

Official minority languages: Spanish (5% = 600 000) and Portuguese (1% = 120 000). The last 1% = Other nationalities and languages.

Type of Government: A democratic republic

Head of State and Government: The President

Branches of the Government:

1. The President - Must approve of the laws that the parliament or the ministers is suggesting. The president is the leader of Verdunia's biggest party and is elected in an election every 5 years.

2. The government - At least 3 partys has cooperate if they want to a lead Verdunia's government and the 3 partys must have more than 50% of the votes all together.

3. The parliament - The parliament has 289 members from 7 parties, never more and never less. The system for how many members each party gets in each election, is a little bit complicated. Here's how it works:

Even if the biggest party gets 50% of the votes, it only counts as 27% of 289, which is 78. And even if the second biggest party just gets 14% of the votes, it counts as 21% of 289, which is 61. So no party can get more than 78 places in the parliament. The country has this system so that no party can get too powerful. Here's how many places each party gets:

The biggest: 27% - 78 places

The 2nd biggest: 21% - 61 places

The 3rd biggest: 15% - 43 places

The 4th biggest: 13% - 38 places

The 5th biggest: 11% - 32 places

The 6th biggest: 8% - 23 places

The 7th biggest: 5% - 14 places

The biggest partys

NOTE: The partys in this list isn't reflecting my opinions, they're just made up.

Here's a list of the biggest partys from the last election in Verdunia:

The biggest: La Partie Líberale (The liberal Party, a liberal party) *

The 2nd biggest: Los Democratícas (The democrats, a left party)

The 3rd biggest: Le Centre (The centre party, a right-middle party)*

The 4th biggest: L'Assoçiassion Cresthiênne (The christian association, a conservative right party)*

The 5th biggest: La Partie Vertée (The green party, a left-middle party)

The 6th biggest: La Partie Gauche (The left party, a left party)

The 7th biggest: Los Democratícas De Verdunîana (The democrats of Verdunia, a xenophobic party, a right party)

The partys with a * after is the partys that rule Verdunia since the last election. The president comes from La Partie Líberale and his name is Darió Bellatti.

Basic Grammar

Here are some grammar:

The Alphabet (L'Alphabet)

Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz

The language also uses the letters: Çç Áá Éé Íí Óó Úú Àà Èè Ìì Òò Ùù Ââ Êê Îî Ôô Ûû

An "^" over the vowel means it's a long vowel, an "´" over the vowel means that the stress is on that vowel and an "`" over a letter doesn't change any pronunciation, it's just so you can tell two words apart, otherwise they would be spelled in the same way and it could be some misunderstandings.

Since "C" is pronounced either as in children or as in camera in Verdunian, you can put a cedilla (¸) under the "C" and then it's pronounced as in circus. It's called C çedîa [Che cediia] (Cedilla C).

Pronunciation

Vowels

a as in bus

e as in bed or as in cat

i as in sit

o as in cool

u as in pull

ai as in sat

au as in cow

ou as in cool

ue as the Swedish y

eu as the French queue

eau as in the French eau

Consonants

b as in big [be]

c before e and i as in child and before a, o and u as in camera [che]

d as in do [de]

f as in foot [ef]

g before e and i as in azure and before a, o and u as in grass [zhe]

h as in hair [acha]

j as in azure [zhi]

k as in come [ka]

l as in large [el]

m as in mouse [em]

n as in not [en]

p as in pig [pe]

q as in quarter [qu]

r as in rat only further more in the front of the mouth [er]

s as in miss [es]

t as in tea [te]

v as in live [ve]

w as in winner [duble ve]

x as in axe [ix]

y as in young or as in sit [igrek]

z as in zone [zeta]

Articles

In Verdunian, nouns have gender. There are two genders, masculine and feminine. Most of the nouns that ends with a vowel is a feminine noun and most of the nouns that ends with a consonant is a masculine noun. The two genders have different words for "one". And those are une for masculine and una for feminine. For example:

Une chíen - A dog

Una chíenne - A female dog.

They also have different words for definite articles, le for masculine and la for feminine. For example:

Le chíen - The dog

La chíenne - The female dog.

When the noun starts with a vowel, the le and the la is slurred togther with the word. For example:

Le + alphabet - L'alphabet

La + animale - L'animale

If you don't know how many of something there is, you put lis in front of it. And if the noun ends with a consonant you add -es at the end and if it ends with a vowel you add -s. For example:

Lis chattes - Cats

Lis chíenes - Dogs

When you know exactly how many there are of something and there's more than one of it, you use los. For example:

Los chíenes - The dogs

Los chattes - The cats

Plural

Not every plural-noun gets the change -s or -es, a few words gets another change and some other turns to a whole new word.

Here's a list of some words with different changes:

Une jornal (pl: jorneau) - A newspaper

Una lengua (pl: lingue) - A language

Une ordenacer (pl: ordenoui) - A computer

Una feuie (pl: fouqe) - A paper (Like a paper you can draw on)

Une eui (pl: çâiva) - An eye

Une home (pl: homare) - A man

Una feme (pl: femare) - A woman

Pronouns

Jeu - I

Me - Me

Meyênna - Myself

Tu - You

Te - You (same use as "me")

Tuyênna - Yourself

Ile - He

Su - Him

Ileyênna - Himself

Ela - She

Sui - Her

Elayênna - Herself

On - It

Vis - We

Ves - Us

Viyênna - Ourselfes

Nis - You (pl.)

Nes - You (pl., same use as "ves")

Niyênna - Yourselfes

Ióro - They

Lures - Them

Ióroyênna - Themselfes

Possessive Pronouns

Mon (Maskuline words, une) Ma (Feminine words, una) - My

Ton (m) Ta (f) - Your

Son (m) Sa (f) - His, Her

Vitré - Our

Nitré - Yours

Leur - Their

Possessive pronouns for more than one object:

Mes - My

Tes - Your

Ses - His, Her

Visé - Our

Nisé - Yours

Leurs - Their

Adjectives

In Verdunian, the adjective comes after the noun. So it's not une blanco chíen, it's une chíen blanco. But if you want to say two days, you don't say giores deu, you say like in English, deu giores. And if there's more than one thing, you put en -s after the adjective.

Here's a list of some common adjectives:

Blonde (f: blondesse) - Blonde

Brunette (f: brunesse) - Brown-Haired

Ruberese (f: ruberesse) - Red-Haired

Noirese (f: noiresse) - Black-Haired

Blancese (f: blancesse) - White-Haired

Grezese (f: grezesse)- Gray-Haired

Belle (f: bella) - Beautiful, Pretty

Ilî (f: iliesse) - Ugly

Adôreble (f: adorablée) - Adorable

Inteligente (f: inteligentée) - Intelligent, Smart

Amúsante (f: amusantée) - Funny, Fun

Merveioso (f: merveieuse) - Wonderful

Buona (f: bonne) - Good

Terrîble (f: terriblée) - Terrible

Horrîble (f: horriblée) - Horrible

Gióven (f: giovenne) - Young

Vieu (f: vieuse) - Old

Neauvo (f: nouvella) - New

Grande (f: grandée) - Big

Juqe (f: juqée) - Small

Jantî (f: jantîe) - Kind

Verbs

Verbs in Verdunian are conjugated after which person who does it. Most of the verbs are conjugated after a special pattern and all of those verbs ends with -re and they're called regular verbs or -re verbs. When you conjugate a verb, you remove the -re and the vowel that comes before it and then you add some other letters. For example I will use the verb parlare, which means to speak. Here's how you conjugate it:

Jeu parles

Tu parlio

Ile/Ela/On parlé

Vis parlesa

Nis parlite

Ióro parlas

Non-regular verbs

Not all verbs are regular verbs. In fact, some of the most common verbs aren't regular. Here I will show you how the verbs Esteres (To Be), Aveur (To Have), Fera (To Do) and Prendese (To Take). Here's how to conjugate them:

Esteres (To Be)

Jeu souno

Tu esio

Ile/Ela/On esse

Vis etênne

Nis seite

Ióro estias

Aveur (To Have)

Jeu ai (J'ai)

Tu are (T'are)

Ile/Ela/On avre

Vis agione

Nis eure

Ióro eno

Fera (To Do)

Jeu faccio

Tu fais

Ile/Ela/On fire

Vis fasa

Nis farite

Ióro ferez

Prendese (To Take)

Jeu prendo

Tu prenne

Ile/Ela/On prende

Vis presa

Nis prito

Ióro prendas

The past time

Here I will show you what you say when you want to say that something has happened.

Regular verbs has a special pattern to follow. I will show you with the verb parlare. Like when you conjugate a verb by person, you remove the -re plus the vowel that's in front of it. When it's a regular verb you say like J'ai parly (I have spoken). You just add -y. When it's a non-regular it's a little harder. Like when you conjugate it by person, it turns into a whole new word. Here's some common non-regular verbs:

Esteres - To be

J'ai êt - I've been

Aveur - To have

J'ai yue - I've had

Fera - To do

J'ai feçue - I've done

Prendese - To take

J'ai prenzé - I've taken

Reflexive verbs

Reflexive verbs are verbs that needs a reflexive pronoun. (Me, te, su, sui, ves, nes, lures) In Verdunian you put the reflexive pronoun right after the first pronoun. For example:

Jeu m'habîes - I'm getting dressed.

The "m'" is the reflexive pronoun.

Ile su baié - He's bathing.

The "su" is the reflexive pronoun.

Some examples of reflexive verbs:

S'habîare - To dress

Su baiere - To bath

Su liaverte - To wash (yourself)

Su viadere - To hide

S'alvire - To stand up

Su dormirure - To sleep

Other conjugations of verbs

Of course there are other conjugations of the verbs, as in all other languages. For example there are more conjugations for past time, there are for the future and there are conjugations for like "I would like to...". Here I'll show some of those conjugations.

Imperfect (Imparfaiet)

This conjugation is for the past time. All the verbs has the same conjugation in the end of the words, no matter what, but the beginning of the words can change a bit. Here's the conjugations for esteres.

Jeu ésaie

Tu ésaies

Ile ésae

Vis ésona

Nis ésema

Ióro ésolent

Dictionary

Here's a (long) list of words in Verdunian.

Everyday Expressions

Greetings

Bounamâtin - Good morning

Bounagiore - Good day

Bounasera - Good evening

Bounanoche - Good night

Salut - Hi (Teenagers to teenagers).

Jacquarre - Hi (More polite. Adults to adults or teenagers to adults).

Ciao - Bye (Teenagers to teenagers).

Adieu - Bye (More polite. Adults to adults or teenagers to adults).

Colours

Une colêr - A colour

Blu (f: bleu) - Blue

Rûberio (f: rouge) - Red

Jeaune (f: jeaunée) - Yellow

Verde (f: vertée) - Green

Orange (f: orangée) - Orange

Rôsa (f: rosisse) - Pink

Lila (f: violesse) - Purple

Máron (f: maronnée) - Brown

Gri (f: griésse) - Gray

Noir (f: noirée) - Black

Blanco (f: blanche) - White

Numbers

Númera - Number

Animals

Una animale - An animal

Une chatte (f: |sse) - A cat

Une chíen (f: |ne) - A dog

Une lapîn (f: lapine) - A rabbit

Une serpente (f: |sse) - A snake

Une caíva (f: caívenne) - A guinea pig

Une amstere (f: |sse) - A hamster

Une pesce (f: |sse) - A fish

Une perucce (f: |sse) - A parakeet

Une lión (f: |esse) - A lion

Une tigre (f: |sse) - A tiger

Days, Months and Seasons

Avegiore - Yesterday

Cegiore- Today

Demorgion - Tomorrow

Ademorgion - The day after tomorrow

Weekdays

Une giore - A day

Lunagiore - Monday

Maregiore - Tuesday

Mercegiore - Wednesday

Jogiore - Thursday

Vendegiore - Friday

Samigiore - Saturday

Domegiore - Sunday

Months

Una mese - A month

Gianvier - January

Febrier - February

Marze - Mars

Avrile - April

Magio - May

Juno - June

Julio - July

Agosto - August

Septembre - September

Octobre - October

Novembre - November

Decembre - December

Seasons

Una stágione - Season

Prîmavera - Spring

Estáte - Summer

Autôme - Autumn, Fall

Hinvéro - Winter

Foods

Colazion - Breakfast

Dejúne - Lunch

Dînner - Dinner

Norituere - Food

Juenî - Meal

Vegetables

Una legúme - A vegetable

Una tomate - A tomato

Una cotriole - A cucumber

Mez - Corn

Una broccoli - A broccoli

Une onion - An onion

Laitue - Lettuce

Una cedanne - A celery

Une carót - A carrot

Una cavólfìre - A cauliflower

Fruits

Una fruita - A fruit

Una pômme - An apple

Una pere - A pear

Una banana - A banana

Una apelsînne - An orange

Una limóne - A lemon

Una frazo - A strawberry

Una pescé - A peach

Una melóne - A melon

Una çeurize - A cherry

Una cêpa - A grape

Una pruene - A plum

Meal Courses

Aperítio - Appetizer

Entrése - Main Course

Dessert - Dessert

Main Courses

Poule - Chicken

Beuf - Beef

Porque - Pork

Steque - Steak

Pesce - Fish

Desserts

Una geteau - A cake

Una pâie - A pie

Una mufinne - A cupcake

Una coqîe - A cookie

Tiramisú - Tiramisu

Parfait - Parfait

Glaçe - Ice Cream

Family words

Parentes (pl., m.) - Parents

Mader (f) - Mum/Mother

Pader (m) - Dad/Father

Sibelynes (pl., m.) - Siblings

Frare (m) - Brother

Sorêlla (f) - Sister

Padêlla (f) - Aunt (Dad's sister)

Madêlla (f) - Aunt (Mum's sister)

Padare (m) - Uncle (Dad's brother)

Madare (m) - Uncle (Mum's brother)

Grandes-parentes (pl., m.) - Grandparents

Grande-mader (f) - Dad's mother

Grandée-mader (f) - Mum's mother

Grande-pader (m) - Dad's father

Grandée-pader (m) - Mum's father

Cousine (m) - Cousin (boy)

Cousinée (f) - Cousin (girl)

Other words

Qua? - What?

Qui? - Who?

Quando? - When?

Qîe? - How?

Pourqua? - Why?

Ou? - Where?

O? - Or?

Adesso - Now

Perciem - Because

Aqudo - Here

Lei - There

Lei-a - Over there

Maiza - But

Example text

A letter in Verdunian

Here's a letter written in Verdunian from the imaginated Callam Dagio from Verdunia.

Jacquarre!

J'appelles Callam Dagio y jeu souno 14 (quatreze) anes. Jeu vires aì Verdunîana, aì una çité qui apellé Danimerre.

J'ai une frare, Alex, y una sorêlla, Sophie. J'ai ausî une pader y una mader. Mon pader appellé Alveró y ma mader appellé Julie. J'ai ausî una chíenne, Una.

Mes interestes estias vodere mes coupaines, reguardere de la têle y gioure de l'ordenacer. Mais jeu pas aimes fera de la piano, rangere ma camâre o fera mes devoares.

Ile esse toute de me.

Adieu!

Callam Dagio

Translation

Hi!

My name is Callam Dagio and I'm 14 years old. I live in Verdunia, in a town called Çité de Verdunîana.

I have a brother, Alex and a sister, Sophie. I also have a dad and a mum. My dad's name is Alveró and my mum's name is Julie. I also have a dog, Una.

My interests are beeing with my freinds, watch TV and play on the computer. But i don't like to play the piano, clean my room or do my homeworks.

That was everything about me.

Bye!

Callam Dagio

Comparison

Since Verdunian is a Romance language, it has many similarities with the other Romance languages, especially French and Italian. Here is a santence in the biggest Romance languages, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Romanian plus Verdunian so you can see the similarities.

One language is not enough. (English)

Uma língua não é suficiente. (Portuguese)

Un idioma no es suficiente. (Spanish)

Une langue ne suffit pas. (French)

Una lingua non è sufficiente. (Italian)

O limbă nu este de ajuns. (Romanian)

Una lengua pas esse sufice. (Verdunian)

As you can see it has many similarities with almost everyone of those.

Countries and Nationalities

Here's all the countries in Europe and some major countries around the world.

La Verdunîana - Verdunia

Verdunîenne (ée) - Verdunian language or people

L'Içelânde (f) - Iceland

Içelândaise (ée) - Icelandic language or people

La Norvîe - Norway

Norvîenne (ée) - Norwegian language or people

La Suezia - Sweden

Suezîenne (ée) - Swedish language or people

Le Danemark - Denmark

Danaise (ée) - Danish language or people

Le Fînland - Finland

Finoâse (ée)- Finnish language or people

La Rissîe - Russia

Rissîenne (ée) - Russian language or people

L'Estonîe (f) - Estonia

Estonîenne (ée) - Estonian language or people

La Lettonîe - Latvia

Letton (ée) - Latvian language or people

La Lituania - Lithuania

Lituan (ée) - Lithuanian language or people

La Bielorissîe - Belarus

Bielorissîenne (ée) - Belarussian language or people

L'Icren (m) - Ukraine

Icrenne (ée) - Ukrainian language or people

La Polánde - Poland

Polesque (ée) - Polish language or people

Verdunian