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{{Infobox language
{{Infobox language
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===History===
===History===


In 410, the Gothic king [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaric_I Alaric I] sacked Rome. That year was an astonishing victory for all Goths. However, Alaric died that same year due to a hunting accident. The Goths were left without a suitable king, and they began to fracture into petty bickering. Almost none of the tribes wanted to leave the lush Roman Empire, and neither did they want to fight the Emperor. However, the Simmeck tribe, led by their chief [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wallia Wallia], decided to abandon the Roman Empire. The year that the Simmecks left, the Roman general Constantius III crushed the remaining Goths, and all that were left were the men of Wallia's armies.
In 410, the Gothic king [[w:Alaric_I|Alaric]] sacked [[w:Sack_of_Rome_(410)|Rome]]. That year was an astonishing victory for all Goths. However, [[w:Alaric_I|Alaric]] died that same year due to a hunting accident. The Goths were left without a suitable king, and they began to fracture into petty bickering. Almost none of the tribes wanted to leave the lush Roman Empire, and neither did they want to fight the Emperor. However, the Simmeck tribe, led by their chief [[w:Wallia|Wallia]], decided to abandon the Roman Empire. The year that the Simmecks left, the Roman general [[w:Constantius_III|Constantius]] crushed the remaining Goths, and all that were left were the men of [[w:Wallia|Wallia]]'s armies.
 
Soon after, [[w:Constantius_III|Constantius]] became emperor and permitted the Simmecks to live north of [[w:Moesia|Moesia]]. They acted as the first line of defense against the [[w:Huns|Huns]]. They lived in relative peace, and the Romans promised to not bother them. Around 440, the invasion of the [[w:Huns|Huns]] forced out the Simmecks all the way to the Rhine. They formed an alliance with the [[w:Alemanni|Alemanni]] and in 451, alongside the Romans, they defeated the Huns at the [[w:Battle_of_the_Catalaunian_Plains|Battle of the Catalaunian Plains]]. [[w:Wallia|Wallia]] died in the battle, and [[w:Theodoric_I |Theodoric]] rose to power.


Soon after, Constantius became emperor and permitted the Simmecks to live north of Moesia. They acted as the first line of defense against the Huns. They lived in relative peace, and the Romans promised to not bother them. Around 440, the invasion of the Huns forced out the Simmecks all the way to the Rhine. They formed an alliance with the Alemanni and in 451, alongside the Romans, they defeated the Huns at the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Catalaunian_Plains Battle of the Catalaunian Plains]. Wallia died in the battle, and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodoric_I Theodoric] rose to power.
After the battle, the [[w:Pope_Leo_I |Pope Leo I]] converted [[w:Theodoric_I |Theodoric]] from [[w:Arianism|Arianism]] to [[w:Nicene_Christianity|Nicene Christianity]]. He appointed [[w:Theodoric_I |Theodoric]] on a holy mission, citing it to be a revelation given to him by God. The Simmecks were to be the guards of the Christendom. He told them to move north and to establish a church there, to defend Rome and the Christian world.  


After the battle, the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Leo_I Pope Leo I] converted [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodoric_I Theodoric] from [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arianism Arianism] to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicene_Christianity Nicene Christianity]. He appointed [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodoric_I Theodoric] on a holy mission, citing it to be a revelation given to him by God. The Simmecks were to be the guards of the Christendom. He told them to move north and to establish a church there, to defend Rome and the Christian world.  
[[w:Theodoric_I |Theodoric]] agreed to follow the word of the Pope, and he moved his kingdom east. They settled on the [[w:Elbe|Elbe]] and [[w:Warta|Warta]]. He also adopted the name ''Fīnēs Rōmae'' (The borders of Rome). As a thanks, the Romans sent their best architects to design places for the Simmecks to live. They built them massive Roman [[w:Castra|castra]] and sent their best scholars.  Somewhere around the Dark Ages, the Latin name dropped and instead the Old Mergian name ''Rumi marga'' stuck. That name evolved to the word ''Rommerg'' which is where the word ''Mergian'' comes from.


[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodoric_I Theodoric] agreed to follow the word of the Pope, and he moved his kingdom east. They settled on the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elbe Elbe] and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warta Warta]. He also adopted the name ''Fīnēs Rōmae'' (The borders of Rome). As a thanks, the Romans sent their best architects to design places for the Simmecks to live. Eventually, the Latin name dropped and instead the Old Mergian name ''Rumi marga'' stuck. That name evolved to the word ''Rommerg'' which is where the word ''Mergian'' comes from.
Nearby Slavic peoples mixed with the Rommergians, which imported a lot of Slavic influence into the language.
As Europe fell into the Dark Ages, the Rommergian Kingdom fell into decline and fractured into many shattered duchies. Throughout the Middle Ages, the Rommergian duchies and city-states aligned themselves with the Holy Roman Empire. This was a source of many German and Latin borrowings. The Rommergians were a very bookish people, thanks to all the libraries built by the Romans in antiquity. This was another source of Latin and Greek influence.
When Napoleon invaded Rommerg, he established the sister republics of the Cisoderene and the Transoderene (based off [[w:Oder|Oder River]]). Once Napoleon had been defeated, the former Duke of Plebja was elected King and a united Rommerg marked the maps of Europe for the first time in centuries. Many people began to consider Napoleon's invasion to have been a blessing in disguise and French culture began to influence Rommerg. This newfound [[w:Francophilia|Francophilia]] influenced many modern loanwords into the Mergian language.


It is important to note that there is no documented "Old Mergian" language. It is simply used as a catch-all term for the language spoken before Modern Mergian.
It is important to note that there is no documented "Old Mergian" language. It is simply used as a catch-all term for the language spoken before Modern Mergian.
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===Phoneme Inventory===
===Phoneme Inventory===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Consonant inventory
|-
!
! Labial
! Dental
! Alveolar
! Palatal
! Velar
|-
! Nasal
| m
| colspan="2" | n
| (ɲ)
| ŋ
|-
! Plosive
| p b
| colspan="2" | t d
|
| k g
|-
! Fricative
| f v
| θ ð
| s z
| (ç)
| x~ɣ*
|-
! Affricate
|
| colspan="2" | ts dz
|
|
|-
! Trill
|
|
| r
|
|
|-
! Approximant
|
|
|
| j
| w
|-
! Lat. Approx.
|
|
| l
|
|
|}
The palatals given in brackets are allophones of how palatalized /n/ and /x~ɣ/.
Although originally separate sounds, /x/ and /ɣ/ have merged and are now interchangeable.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Vowel inventory
|-
!
! Front
! Central
! Back
|-
! Close
| i
|
| u
|-
! Near Close
| ɪ
|
| ʊ
|-
! Close Mid
|
| ɘ
| o*
|-
! Open Mid
| ɛ*
|
| ɔ
|-
! Open
| colspan="3" | a
|} 
The starred vowels have long forms.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+ Diphthongs
|-
!
! a
! ɛ
! o
|-
! ɪ
| aɪ
| ɛɪ
|
|-
! ʊ
| aʊ
| ɛʊ
| oʊ
|}
The ʊ-series of diphthongs are allophones of /aw/ and /ɛw/. If /oɪ/ is created for some reason, it is pronounced as [ɛɪ].


===Allophony===
===Allophony===
There are four regular allophonic sound changes. They are called ''lasfij'' (lenition), ''korij'' (palatalization), ''usdrezjij'' ("dragging out") and ''inregtij'' ("fixing").
''Lasfij'' or "lenition" and ''korij'' or "palatalization" are self-explanatory by their names. Lenition happens when a consonant is surrounded by vowels. Palatalization happens after j, ij or ei. Dragging out is a sound change that happens to unvoiced stops at the ends of words, wherein they become their voiced fricatives. Their sound changes will be given below:
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Sound !! Lenited !! Palatalized !! Dragged out
|-
| /p/
| /b/
| -
| /v/
|-
| /t/
| /d/
| /ts/
| /ð/
|-
| /d/
| /ð/
| /dz/
| -
|-
| /θ/
| /ð/
| /ç/
| -
|-
| /k/
| /ɡ/
| /s/
| /ɣ/
|-
| /ɡ, ɣ/
| -
| /z/
| -
|}


===Stress===
===Stress===


===Orthography===
===Orthography===
The Mergian language is written in two scripts. They are the Latin script (''Latnei'') and clerical script (''Gresjei''). The latter is reserved for religious purposes, but sees usage in rural regions too. The Latin script was introduced by [[w: Johannes_Gutenberg|Johannes Gutenberg]] with the advent of the [[w: Printing_press|printing press]]. At first, the Latin script was adopted and simply replicated the clerical script by appearance (i.e. Latin letters replaced letters that they looked like, not ones that they sounded like). This usage of the script caused widespread confusion among Mergians and non-Mergians alike, since completely unrelated letters merged. After the December Revolution in 1916, the new government sought to reform writing. The reforms refit the Latin script to fit Mergian speech, rather than to fit clerical script characters.
The alphabet is given below
{| class="wikitable style="text-align:center"
|+ Mergian Alphabet
|-
! Gothic
|𐌰
|𐌱
|𐌲
|𐌳
|𐌴
|𐌵
|𐌶
|𐌷
|𐌸
|𐌹
|𐌺
|𐌻
|𐌼
|𐌽
|𐌾
|𐌿
|𐍀
|𐍂
|𐍃
|𐍄
|𐍅
|𐍆
|𐍇
|𐍈
|𐍉
|
|-
! Pre-1916
|A a
|B b
|C c
|D d
|E e
|U u
|Z z
|H h
|Y y
|I i
|R r
|⅄ ʎ
|M m
|N n
|G g
|∩ n
|∩ n
|R r
|S s
|T t
|Y y
|F f
|X x
|O o
|O o
|D d
|-
! Modern
|A a
|B b
|G g
|D d
|E e
| -
|Z z
|H h
|Þ þ
|I i
|K k
|L l
|M m
|N n
|J j
|U u
|P p
|R r
|S s
|T t
|Ŭ ŭ
|F f
|X x*
|V v
|O o
|Đ ð
|-
! Pronounced
| /a/
| /b/
| /x~ɣ/
| /d/
| /ɛ/, /ɘ/
| -
| /z/
| /h/, /ː/
| /θ/
| /ɪ/, /i/
| /k/
| /l/
| /m/
| /n/
| /j/
| /ʊ/, /u/
| /p/
| /r/
| /s/
| /t/
| /w/
| /f/
| /x/
| /v/
| /ɔ/, /o/
| /ð/
|}
* Vowels with multiple entries use the same letter to write distinct sounds. There are a set of rules determining when to use which pronounciation.
* <H h> is pronounced /h/ word-initially and lengthens the preceding vowel anywhere else
* <Ŭ ŭ> is called ''gamorzjets u'' ("short u") and it is used to transcribe clerical script. In modern text, this character is not used and instead is replaced by <U u>
* <X x> is seen in one word in modern text, ''Xristo'' ("Christ"), and any words containing it.


==Morphology==
==Morphology==
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If a geminate consonant cluster forms due to a prefix, then it should be turned degeminated.  
If a geminate consonant cluster forms due to a prefix, then it should be turned degeminated.  
Prefixes are able to stack, and this is most common seen in perfective verbs which already have a directional or aspectual prefix. If two vowels meet between prefixes, then the second one should be deleted. An example is ''atzjigen'' ("to contact") becoming its perfective form, ''gatzjigen''.  
Prefixes are able to stack, and this is most common seen in perfective verbs which already have a directional or aspectual prefix. If two vowels meet between prefixes, then the second one should be deleted. An example is ''atzjigen'' ("to contact") becoming its perfective form, ''gatzjigen''.
 
Some words take a prefix to make a distinction between multiple meanings, that are normally be distinguished by context, when context cannot provide enough information. This kind of prefix is called the supplemental prefix. Consider an example with the word ''lesjen'' which can mean "to learn" or "to teach". By context alone, you can infer what the speaker means to say, like in the sentences ''Dzijtskalo njuð sijnddekse lesjen'' "The teacher likes to teach/learn grammar" and ''Sibni hade sinddekse lesjen'' "The student hates to teach/learn grammar". However, in a sentence like ''E an Franrig lesjen fravoor'' "He moved to France to teach/learn", it is not immediately evident. For this reason, a less common used form like ''dulesjen'' "teach" or ''inlesjen'' "learn" is used. As evident by the example, normally ''du-'' will mark a causative or dative sense while ''in-'' will mark a passive sense.


==== Tense, aspect and mood ====
==== Tense, aspect and mood ====
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! Perfective
! Perfective
| ''frebrag'' <br/> "I have broken"
| ''frebrag'' <br/> "I have broken"
| ''frabriga'' <br/> "I will break"
| ''frabrige'' <br/> "I will break"
|-
|-
! Imperfective
! Imperfective
| ''brag'' <br/> "I was breaking"
| ''brag'' <br/> "I was breaking"
| ''briga'' <br/> "I am breaking"
| ''brige'' <br/> "I am breaking"
|}
|}


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! Perfective
! Perfective
| ''dav'' <br/> "I have died"
| ''dav'' <br/> "I have died"
| ''diva'' <br/> "I will die"
| ''dive'' <br/> "I will die"
|-
|-
! Imperfective
! Imperfective
| ''fordav'' <br/> "I was dying"
| ''fordav'' <br/> "I was dying"
| ''fordiva'' <br/> "I am dying"
| ''fordive'' <br/> "I am dying"
|}
|}


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! 1s
! 1s
| -e
| -e
| -Ø
| -
| -au
| -au
| -jau
| -jau
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|-
|-
! 2s
! 2s
| -s
| -ea
| -t
| -t
| -ai
| -ai
| -ee
| -ji
| -Ø
| -Ø
|-
|-
! 3s  
! 3s  
| -t
| -
| -t
| -t
| -ai
| -ai
| -i
| -ji
|
|
|-
|-
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| -em
| -em
| -em
| -em
| -me
| -aime
| -me
| -me
| -em
| -em
|-
|-
! 2p
! 2p
| -eþ
| -ats
| -eþ
| -uts
| -þe
| -jits
| -þe
| -aits
| -iþ
| -iþ
|-
|-
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| -en
| -en
| -en
| -en
| -ne
| -aine
| -ne
| -ne
|
|
|-
|-
! colspan="4" | Mediopassive
! colspan="4" | Mediopassive
| colspan="4" | -ðe
| colspan="4" | -te
|-
|-
! colspan="4" | Participle
! colspan="4" | Participle
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{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
|-
! rowspan="2" | Example with <br/> ''singen'' 'to sing' !! colspan="2" | Indicative !! colspan="2" | Subjunctive !! rowspan="2" colspan="2" | Imperative
! rowspan="2" | Example with <br/> ''bijden'' 'to bite' !! colspan="2" | Indicative !! colspan="2" | Subjunctive !! rowspan="2" colspan="2" | Imperative
|-
|-
! Present !! Past !! Present !! Past  
! Present !! Past !! Present !! Past  
|-
|-
! 1s
! 1s
| ''singe''
| ''bijde''
| ''sang''
| ''beð''
| ''singau''
| ''bijdau''
| ''sangjau''
| ''bijdzjau''
||   
||   
|-
|-
! 2s
! 2s
| ''sings''
| ''bijdea''
| ''sangt''
| ''best''
| ''singai''
| ''bijdai''
| ''sangee''
| ''bijdzji''
|| ''sing!''
|| ''bið!''
|-
|-
! 3s  
! 3s  
| ''singt''
| ''bið''
| ''sangt''
| ''best''
| ''singai''
| ''bijdai''
| ''sangi''
| ''bijdzji''
||
||
|-
|-
! 1p
! 1p
| ''singem''
| ''bijdem''
| ''sangem''
| ''bedem''
| ''singaim''
| ''bijdaime''
| ''sangme''
| ''baidme''
|| ''singme''
|| ''bijdme''
|-
|-
! 2p
! 2p
| ''singeþ''
| ''bijdats''
| ''sangeþ''
| ''beduts''
| ''singþe''
| ''bijdits''
| ''sangþe''
| ''badaits''
|| ''singiþ''
|| ''bijdiþ''
|-
|-
! 3p
! 3p
| ''singen''
| ''bijden''
| ''sangen''
| ''beden''
| ''singne''
| ''bijdaine''
| ''sangne''
| ''bedne''
||  
||  
|-
|-
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|-
|-
! Mediopassive
! Mediopassive
| colspan="3" | singðe
| colspan="3" | bijste
| colspan="3" | sangðe
| colspan="3" | beste
|-
|-
! Participle
! Participle
| colspan="3" | singens
| colspan="3" | bijdens
| colspan="3" | sangens
| colspan="3" | bedens
|-
|-
! Infintive
! Infintive
| colspan="6" | singen
| colspan="6" | beden
|}
* Note: A regular sound change shifts /tt/ into [st], and word-final /t/ into [ð].
 
The weak verb conjugation is slightly more varied based off the thematic vowel of the verb. The thematic vowel divides verb conjugation into four declensions. The thematic vowel is always indicated by the infinitive. They are as follows:
 
* Class I (inf. ''-jen'', eg. ''souzjen'') with the thematic vowel ''-i''. The ''-i'' becomes a ''-j'' before a vowel.
* Class II (inf. ''-on'', eg. ''salbon'') with the thematic vowel ''-o''. The ''-o'' deletes any vowel after it.
* Class III (inf. ''-en'', eg. ''evan'') with the thematic vowel ''-e''. The ''-e'' is deleted by a preceding vowel, stop or silibant.
* Class IV (inf. ''-nen'', eg. ''fulnen'') with the thematic ending ''-ne''. The ''-e'' is deleted by a preceding vowel, stop or silibant and it becomes ''-no'' in the past tense.
 
The III. class has a small amount of verbs in it. This means that even though it and the strong verbs share an infinitive ending, one can assume that the ''-en'' ending is for a strong verb.
 
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Strong verb conjugation
|-
! !! colspan="5" | I. class !! colspan="5" | II. class
|-
! rowspan="2" | !! colspan="2" | Indicative !! colspan="2" | Subjunctive !! rowspan="2" | Imperative !! colspan="2" | Indicative !! colspan="2" | Subjunctive !! rowspan="2" | Imperative
|-
! Present !! Past !! Present !! Past !! Present !! Past !! Present !! Past
|-
! 1s
| -je
| -ða
| -jau
| -ðjau
|
| rowspan="3" | -ou
| -oðe
| -jou
| -oðje
|
|-
! 2s
| -ea
| -ðei
| -jea
| -ðea
| -ji
|-
! 3s
| -ji
| -ða
| -ea
| -ði
|
|-
! 1p
| -jem
| -ðem
| -jma
| -ðma
| -jem
|
| -om
 
|-
! 2p
| -jats
| -ðuts
| -jets
| -ðits
| -jiþ
|
| -outs
|-
! 3p
| -jen
| -ðen
| -jna
| -ðna
| -on
|
|-
! colspan="4" | Present Mediopassive
| colspan="3" | -ta
|-
! colspan="4" | Past Mediopassive
| colspan="3" | -tva <!--note for self: the -va ending is from the word va "was" -->
|-
! colspan="4" | Present Participle
| colspan="3" | -jends
|-
! colspan="4" | Past Participle
| colspan="3" | -ets
|-
! colspan="4" | Infinitive
| colspan="3" | -jen
|}
|}


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