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Nissian
Nissiian (Nissiian: Niyīmal, long form Niyimēī Malhwan, abbreviated Nī-Mal) is a semi-inflective Boyoheum language and one of the official languages of the United States of Mekniy and Lurk. It is also official in the KNM under a treaty granting it state language status there. The language is standardised by the Mekniyan National University of Nakāla Hanunkx in Yeoju.
Origins and Classification
Nissiian descends from Proto-Boyoheum (mŋdnumida), a theoretical ancestor language also shared by Jesenian and other related tongues. The name mŋdnumida is thought to combine the Korean modeum (mixed) with mida, a term for the proto-Mekniyans — suggesting something like “mixed language” or a kind of creole. From Proto-Boyoheum, the Jesenian branch split off first; the Nissiian and Esagitian branches diverged later, with the Esagitian eventually replaced by a Nissiian-influenced successor. The Nissiian branch further divided into the Thornian and Nissiian sub-branches. In modern times the Esagitian branch carries two languages (Lower and Upper Esagitian), the Nissiian branch has Nissiian, Bobanian and Konissian, and the Thornian branch has Thornian.
Celtic Ground Theory
Linguists at the University of Nakāla Hanunkx propose that Proto-Boyoheum was a Celtic language strongly influenced by Proto-Korean, particularly in the Ilbunila and Beurgila regions of Mekniy. The Celtic ground theory rests on striking similarities between Nissiian and the insular Celtic languages — Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Welsh, Manx, Breton — and suggests these languages may all descend from the original language of the Boii tribe who inhabited Bohemia and Moravia before Hanunkx’s retinue arrived. The similarity to Latin (itself related to Celtic) is also noted.
A sample of cognates across the family:
| English | Nissiian | Welsh | Irish | Latin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| friend | āmeiko | ffrind | cara | amicum |
| white | alveo | gwyn | bán | alba |
| fish | pisteukisoyeot | pysqodyn | iasc | piscis |
| teeth | lintinnae / dantinnae | dannedd | fiacla | dentes |
| house | dol | ty | teach | domum |
| one | iino | un | ceann | unum |
| two | deobo | dau | beirt | duo |
| three | teare | tri | triúr | tribus |
Writing
Nissiian is written in its own alphabet, the alpabaeta (formerly ababeba). In traditional and sacred documents the older ssalba script is used; Niyi and Esagitia still use ssalba for official purposes.
Two orthographies are currently in use. The old orthography (gerleuṈi eokxeivaeṈun) is the official standard. A reformed orthography (ē shieobōī Eokxeivaen) aims to represent speech more accurately. In autumn 2022, the University of Nakāla Hanunkx introduced the Standard Alpabaeto — a further reform simplifying spelling radically according to pronunciation, dropping ligatures like sh, ch, rh and ng in favour of sī, cī/cē, rī and n, and shortening suffixes such as -soyeot to -sīot.
Example comparison:
| Old orthography | Joleun gūtinnnaekii shēllēnī cēlindisoyeot i keoogisoyeoteul ana amMānnnoseoneul moshnīnī est i hadanostī bbecyaesoyeoteul. |
|---|---|
| Standard Alpabaeto | Jol·n gūnaekii sīēllenī cēlindisīot i kŋgisīot·l ana amMānoseon·l mosīnī ētt i haedanostī bbecīesīot·l. |
Phonology
Standard Nissiian has 15 + 3 basic vowel phonemes, 4 diphthongs and 8 glottalized diphthongs:
- Vowels: a, e, i, o, u, ea, ae, eo, eu
- Long vowels: ā, ē, ī, ō, ū
- Soft (palatalised) vowels: yae, yeo, yeu
- Diphthongs: ai, ei, ao, oa (oa increasingly replaced by hwa)
- Glottalized diphthongs: aa, ee, ii, oo, uu
In ordinary speech, closed vowels (e, o, u) tend to be pronounced openly. Glottalized diphthongs are pronounced unglottalized with an accent in modern standard Nissiian. Glottalized pronunciation is required in Sacred Nissiian. Consonants are arranged in the ssalmeol, a table where each row corresponds to a set of shared phonological features.
Grammar
Nissiian is semi-inflective and semi-agglutinative, expressing grammatical relations through both inflection and many conjunctions. Word order is free, as in Czech. It is a pro-drop language — a sentence can consist of a single verb, with prefixes and suffixes carrying the rest of the meaning.
Word order examples (all meaning “the man ate meat”):
- Mānnson āgyīxan mēmsŋm·n
- Mānnson mēmsŋm·n āgyīxan
- Mēmsŋm·n āgyīxan mānnson
- Āgyīxan mānnson mēmsŋm·n? — (Did the man eat meat?)
Gender
Nissiian has two genders: masculine (kreumli) and feminine (nyaeli). Gender is determined by the final sound of the root: a vowel ending is feminine, a consonant ending is masculine (shilo — feminine; ddēmon — masculine). A neuter gender exists only in pronouns. Gender has less grammatical weight than in Czech.
Cases
Nissiian declines for four cases: nominative, genitive, dative, and vocative. The vocative has two registers: general (nim/im) and elevated (ō). Basic noun endings:
| Case | Feminine sg. (shilo) | Masculine sg. (ddēmon) | Feminine pl. | Masculine pl. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | shilo(n) | ddēmon(·n) | shilol | ddēmoneul |
| Genitive | shilēī | ddēmonēī | shilēī | ddēmonēī |
| Dative | amShilo | anDdēmon | amShilo | anDdēmon |
| Vocative (general) | shilonim | ddēmonim | shilonai | ddēmonai |
| Vocative (elevated) | ō shilo | ō ddēmon | ō shilo | ō ddēmon |
Personal Pronouns
| I | You | He | She | It | We | They | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | ma | du | kreos | nyaes | nney | inbae | sa |
| Genitive | maa | dū | sēobio | noli | nēī | insereu | sa |
| Dative | me | du | nneyden | nneyna | nney | asx | ney |
Verbs
Verbs express three tenses: past, present and future. The infinitive ends in -tt. Sample conjugation of pxaermitt (to take):
| Person | Past | Present | Future |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | pxaermitteg | pxaermitt | pxaermittai |
| You | pxaermaepot | pxaermesi | pxaermaepii |
| He/She/It | pxaermaexan | pxaermekau | pxaermexoīī |
| We | pxaerminneg | pxaerminn | pxaerminnai |
| You (pl.) | pxaermaebod | pxaermete | pxaermaebii |
| They | pxaermaexen | pxaermekii | pxaermexoīī |
Numbers
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 100 | 1000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| nura | iino | deobo | teare | cēra | pinpxe | sēk | sesīa | oktya | sheobin | dekaa | kasseoso | baeikxsli |
Days and Months
| English | Nissiian (native) | Nissiian (Latin-style) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Honan | — | From byona — beginning |
| Tuesday | Dil·n | — | Etymology unknown |
| Wednesday | Sīpekean | — | From shipxinalleo — unending week |
| Thursday | Nokin | — | Etymology unknown |
| Friday | Norisīōn | — | Festival of Norisoyeo |
| Saturday | Sabeut·n | — | Festival of Sabat |
| Sunday | Idilan | — | From ideula/teuryae — beginning |
| Month | Nissiian (native) | Nissiian (Latin-style) | Season (kalanaru) | Etymology |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | Kxeiman | īnaer | Kxeuems (winter) | From kxeimea — winter |
| February | Jerssean | Pxevraēl | From jervve — to shout | |
| March | Caatinen | Martea | Monoyae (spring) | From yyoreu — fresh |
| April | Apxrīlean | Apxrīlea | From apríl | |
| May | Māyeun | Māy | From máj | |
| June | Derkxean | īneu | Samon (summer) | From derkxeuae — to gain |
| July | Dessilan | īleu | From Esagitian desre — to burn | |
| August | Sxīsan | Ageostto | From shisai — the Shisais harvested herbs | |
| September | Lēkesseon | Sēīttemrae | Oēnn (autumn) | From Thornian lekehoku — lazy |
| October | Kŋssesseon | Ōttomrae | From koseka — to work | |
| November | Nyeonesseon | Noīmrae | From svnyeo essea — pig festival | |
| December | Noyīsseon | Dīcemre | Kxeuems (winter) | From noyī essea — Christmas festival |
Idioms
| Nissiian | Literal meaning | Equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| Hadadhwan! | Good-God! | Good God! / Good grief! |
| Sihwa | Not even hwa | Not even a little |
| Nney esta ana amYeoju | He is from Yeoju | He thinks very highly of himself |
| Sa est apo iino Polisoyeoteun | They are from one city | Tarring with the same brush |
| Kxa amOno mokoyae bodssyae, sām ana nneyna polnyae | Who digs a pit for another, falls in himself | Equivalent Czech/English proverb |
| Serceshio ud ovvae Niroreon | To climb out of the nest | To come clean / confess |
| O mēk borayo | When the Mēk dies | Once in a blue moon |
| Taexteal-Maexteal | Techtl-Mechtl | A secret affair |
Sample Text
Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:
| Old orthography | Ara cxomyaineul nguotkii lēudderonī i someu in pxellomēī i txekterol. Sa dekersokii kaati rtinnae mēī i kōmvisoyeoteut innaen i bbīnn mojitti saa in ēno ban dea brotearianēī. |
|---|---|
| Standard Alpabaeto | Ara teutol nwŋtkii lēudderonī i someu in pxellomēī i txekterol. Sa dekersokii kaati ritnēmēī i kōmvisonēn i bbīnn mojitti in ban dea brotearianēī. |
| Abbreviated (iinssal) | Ar cxom ngeot lēdd i seom in pxel i txet. Sa ker kat tinn i kōs i bbīn moij saa in ēn ban dea roaet. |
| English | All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. |
Language Technology
Nissiian is supported by two tools on the Naraeji portal: NTranslator, covering Nissiian, English, Czech, Korean, Moravian, Loringian, Thornian, Esagitian, Plebeian, Bobanian, Konissian, Menders, Bohujils, French and more; and NLanguageCenter, a dictionary across all Boyoheum languages. Both run on the NLanguageKit API, which also generates paper dictionaries.