INTRODUCTION
While Románico may Esperanto by making the grammar and vocabulary more internationally recognizable (eg., Románico vocàbularos vs. Esperanto vortprovizoj), it still retains Esperanto's artificial, gender-bending -o/-a endings for nouns and adjectives (eg., bela patro) that strike many Europeans as grammatically and aesthetically ridiculous. Romanice seeks to eliminate the question of grammatical sex once and for all by replacing -o/-a with its own just-as-artificial-looking but sexually neutral suffixes.
Also, Romanice has lessened the importance of grammatical endings, at least as far as nouns and adjectives are concerned. Words modify other words in Romanice more by virtue of their position, as in English, than by their actual terminations.
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ALPHABET, DERIVATION, COMPARATIVES, ACCUSATIVE, AND NUMBERS
These are totally the same as in Románico.
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ACCENT
The accent is the same as in Románico, except that, while there are no stress marks as in Románico, infinitive endings are nonetheless stressed: amar (a-MAR), skriptar (skri-BAR).
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ARTICLES
These are the same as in Románico, except that the definite article in Romanice is le, the "general" article el.
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NOUNS
All singular nouns end in e, all plurals in s. There's no grammatical gender of any kind, i.e., filie no more indicates the male sex than it does the female. To make such distinctions, -o and -a are used: filio ("son"), filia ("daughter"). When forming compound words that don't allow for such simple gender changes, the affixes -ech- and -is- can be inserted before the final vowel: puerisice "girlish".
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PROPER NOUNS
Names usually written in the Roman alphabet are transcribed into Románico as literally as possible: Caesar, Shakespeare, Descartes, Dell'Abate, John, Giovanni, Hans, Fafa Floly. Names written in non-Roman scripts are transcribed phonetically: Sokrates, Pushkin, Pythagoras, Wo Fat. To this category is added any foreign word that is exclusively national or local: pasha "pasha", pashice "pashalic", pashas "pashas". Latin country names are made to conform to Románico's orthography but are otherwise left as-is, while the rest are handled like foreign names: Europa, Asia, Peruvia, Anglia, Amerika, San Salvador. The names of cities, rivers, etc. are also treated like foreign words: Paris, München, New York, Dniepr.
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ADJECTIVES/ADVERBS
Romanice adjectives are less flexible than their Románico kin in that they can only precede the words they modify. Radical adjectives in Romanice end in -e (eg., nigre "black"); adjectives formed from other classes of words generally add -ice: aque "water", aquice "watery", "aquatic". Most often, though, simply positioning a non-adjective in front of another word is enough to convey the adjectival relationship: Ad mi ne placan el aque sporte "I don't care for water sports".
Romanice adjectives don't vary according to number except when used as plural nouns: bone patre, bone patres; donaz ad mi le maxime bones.
Adverbs made from adjectives end in -im (verim). But note that when the subject is an infinitive, clause, or simply doesn't exist, the predicate does not take the adverbial ending, as in Esperanto, but remains unchanged: Esan kalde hodie. Krear nove lingue esan futile.
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PRONOUNS
The pronouns are mi (I), tu (thou), ilo (he), ila (she), ile (it, he, she), nos (we), vos (you all), and iles (they). The reflexive is su. The possessive forms are: mie, tue, lio, lia, lie, nostre, vestre, ilore
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VERBS
Simple verbs and participles are formed by adding affixes to the root:
skriptar
skriptan
skriptin
skriptun |
To write
write
wrote
will write |
--
skriptante
skriptinte
skriptunte |
--
writing
having written
about to write |
--
skriptate
skriptite
skriptute |
--
being written
having been written
about to be written |
The conditional mood is formed by adding -ereb- to the simple tenses: skripterebin, erebin skriptar "would have written". The imperative adds -az to the root: skriptaz! "write!"
There are two ways to render compound verbs: synthetically and analitically. The first approach is the same method used for forming the conditional:
skriptantan
skriptantin
skriptantun |
is writing
was writing
will be writing |
skriptintan
skriptintin
skriptintun |
have written
had written
will have written |
skriptuntan
skriptuntin
skriptuntun |
going to write
was going to write
will be going to write |
The second approach can be accomplished by using the verb esar (or 'sar) "to be" with a participle (mi 'san skriptinte "I have written"; mi 'sin skriptunte "I was going to write").
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CONCLUSION
Is Romanice a real improvement of Románico? Maybe. Certainly its genderizing scheme is more natural-looking, and some of its pronouns more symetrical. On the other hand, these improvements tend to make the entire language a lot less sonorous than its predecessor (admittedly a petty complaint, but the sonority of Románico and Esperanto is one of the things I like about them).
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SAMPLE TEXT
LE RAKONTE DI BABEL
- Ben le tere esin di un lingue et plusim un parlemanuarie.
- Et quando iles vadeschin de le oriente, iles inkontrin planure en le paese Shinar, et habiteschin ilice.
- Et iles dichin un ad altere: Venaz, nos fachaz laderes et kocinaz iles en foke. Et iles usuin laderes vice di petres, et bitumine vice di cemente.
- Et iles dichin: Venaz, nos konstruktaz por nos civitate et ture, kuye supre extensan ad le cele, et nos celebraz nostre nomine ante kam nos divisecun tra le tote tere.
- Ben le Domino deschensin por vidar le civitate et le ture, qui le filios di Adam edifikin,
- et ilo dichin: Eklo, un esan le popule, et esan un lingue por omni; et eklo que iles kominiciin fachar, et iles jamaes cesun sue projekte uske quando iles kompletun sue labore.
- Venaz dunke, nos deschensaz, et ilice nos konfusaz ilore lingue, por ke nuli ek iles komprensaz le parle di altere.
- Et asice le Domino divisin iles ek ilice tra le tote tere, et iles cesin edifikar le civitate.
- Et pro equile on nominan ile Babel, pro ke ilice esin konfusite le lingue di le tote tere; et de ilice le Domino dispersin omni sur le superficie di le tote regione.
Genesis 11:1-9 traduktite
ek le Vulgate da Fafa Floly
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HISTORIA BABEL
- Erat autem terra labii unius, et sermonum eorundem.
- Cumque profiscerentur de oriente, invenerunt campum in terra Senaar, et habitaverunt in eo.
- Dixitque alter ad proximum suum: Venite, faciemus lateres, et coquamus eos igni. Habueruntque lateres pro saxis, et bitumen pro caemento;
- et dixerunt: Venite, faciamus nobis civitatem et turrim, cuius culmen pertingat ad caelum et celebremus nomen nostrum antequam dividamus in universas terras.
- Descendit autem Dominus ut videret civitatem et turrim, quam aedificabant filii Adam,
- et dixit: Ecce, unus est populus, et unum labium omnibus: coeperuntque hoc facere, nec desistent a cogitationibus suis, donec eas opere compleant.
- Venite igitur, descendamus, et confundamus ibi linguam eorum, ut non audiat unusquisque vocem proximi sui.
- Atque ita divisit eos Dominus ex illo loco in universas terras, et cessaverunt aedificare civitatem.
- Et idcirco vocatum est nomen eius Babel, quia ibi confusum est labium universae terrae: et inde dispersit eos Dominus super faciem cunctarum regionum.
Genesis 11:1-9 conversus ex
Latino vetulo ab Sancto Hieronymo
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LE ÜBER-LINGUE
Brigitte abvadin de sue germane lekcione firmim decidinte cesar sue studade je le lingue. Ante omne, ila ipse trovin nule usue por le lingue di Goethe (le lekciones esin imposite ad ila da lia matre), et plusim ila sentin su profundim desakorde kun germanense. Le lingue iritin ila per lie manke di logike. Hodie ile verim iratifikin ila: le preposicione ohne (sen) prensan le akusative, le preposicione mit (kun) prensan le dative. Pro que? Ante omne, le du preposiciones signifan le positive et negative aspekte di le medipsime relate, et asice iles relataz ad le medipsime kasue. Ila fachin le proteste ad sue instruktisto, juvene germano, qui embaraseschin et nemediatim sentin su kulpice. Ilo esin agrate, senteme home qui trovin dolorifikante apartinar ad nacione anteim gubernate da Hitler. Preste reprochar sue nacione pro omni kunki kulpe, ilo imediatim kredin ke esin nuli akceptande kause pro que le preposiciones mit et ohne relataz ad du diferante kasues.
"Ile ne esan logikice, mi sapan, mas tra le sekles equiste diventin le usue establisite," dichin ilo, quomo se prekante le juvene franca kompatar lingue malediktite da el historie.
"Mi joyan ke tu konfesan ile. Ile ne esan logikice. Mas lingue verim devan esar logikice," dichin Brigitte.
Le juvene germano akordin: "Malfortunim, mankan ad nos Descartes. Equile esan neperdoneble lakune en nostre historie. Ad germanense mankan tradicione di racione et klaricie, ile esan plene di metafisike neble et musike di Wagner, et nos omni sapan qui esin le plu grande admirante di Wagner: Hitler!"
Brigitte interesecin sopre nek Wagner nek Hitler et sequin sue proprie direkte di penses: "Lingue que ne esan logikice esan aprenseble ad infante, pro ke infante ne pensan. Mas ile ne esan aprenseble ad adulte. Eklo pro que, mielaterim, germanense ne esan mundlingue."
Tu esan absolutim juste," dichin le germano, et ilo adjuntin sumisim, "Jam tu vidan le absurde di le germane desidere je dominese super le tote munde."
Multe ipse-kontente, Brigitte skansin en sue auto et vehin ad Apo Fauchon komprar botele di vine....
Selektaje ek Senmorticie da Milan Kundera
traduktite de le anglense da Fafa Floly
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THE ÜBER-TONGUE
Brigitte left her German lesson firmly determined to end her study of the language. First of all, she herself found no use for Goethe's tongue (the lessons had been forced on her by her mother), and in addition she felt deeply at odds with German. The language irritated her with its lack of logic. Today it really made her angry: the preposition ohne (without) takes the accusative case, the preposition mit (with) takes the dative. Why? After all, the two prepositions signify the positive and negative aspect of the same relationship, and so they should be linked to the same case. She raised the objection with her teacher, a young German, who became embarrassed and immediately felt guilty. He was a likable, sensitive man who found it painful to belong to a nation once ruled by Hitler. Ready to blame his country for every possible fault, he believed at once that there was no acceptable reason why the prepositions mit and ohne should be linked to two different cases.
"It isn't logical, I know, but through the centuries this became the established usage," he said, as if begging the young Frenchwoman to take pity on a language cursed by history.
"I am glad that you admit it. It isn't logical. But a language must be logical," Brigitte said.
The young German agreed: "Unfortunately, we lack a Descartes. That's an unforgivable gap in our history. German lacks a tradition of reason and clarity, it's full of metaphysical mist and Wagnerian music, and we all know who was the greatest admirer of Wagner: Hitler!"
Brigitte was interested in neither Wagner nor Hitler and pursued her own line of thought: "A language that is not logical can be learned by a child, because a child doesn't think. But it cannot be learned by an adult. That's why, as far as I am concerned, German is not a world language."
"You are absolutely right," said the German, and he added softly, "Now you see the absurdity of the German desire for world domination."
Well satisfied with herself, Brigitte got into her car and drove to Fauchon's to buy a bottle of wine....
Selection from Immortality by Milan Kundera
translated from the Czech by Peter Kussi
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