Western Lombard grammar

This article discusses the grammar of the Western Lombard (Insubric) language. The examples are in Milanese, written according to the Classical Milanese orthography.

General characteristics of Insubric grammar

The phonetical characteristics of Insubric language are the halving of consonants, the voicing of intervocalic consonants, the transformation of Latin "u" into Insubric /y/, Latin short "o" into /œ/ø/, partial transformation of long "o" into /u/, the falling of final vowels except "a", loss of Latin suffix "re" of infinitive, suffix "i" for 1st person, partial falling of intervocalic "d", partial transformation of "a" into "o" when followed by "l" and another consonant, the transformation of Latin groups "pl", "bl", "fl", "gl" into "pi", "bi", "fi", "gi" (read: dj) and of group "ct" into "c" (read: tsh), the nasalization of vowels followed by "n" or its transformation into a velar nasal, the falling of final "l" and "r" when followed by a long vowel, the distinction of vowel length, the partial transformation of intervocalic "l" into "r".

The etymology of the words is very often derived from Latin. An uncommon feature for a Romance language is the extended use of idiomatic phrasal verbs (verb-particle constructions) much in the same way as in English. E.g. "trà" (to draw, to pull), "trà via" (to waste, to throw away), "trà sù" (to vomit, to throw up), "trà foeura" (to remove, to take away); "mangià" (to eat), "mangià foeura" (to squander).

Unlike most Romance languages, Western Lombard has vowel quantity oppositions. Examples are:

  • pas [paːs] ("peace") vs. pass [pas] ("step" or "mountain pass")
  • ciapaa [t͡ʃaˈpaː] ("caught" or "got", masc.) vs. ciapà [t͡ʃaˈpa] ("to catch" or "to get").

The base vowels of Western Lombard language are: /a/ (c.m.o. "a"), /e/ (c.m.o. "e"), /ɛ/ (c.m.o. "e"), /i/ (c.m.o. "i"), /o/ (c.m.o. "o"), /ɔ/ (c.m.o. "o"), opener and closer /œ/ (c.m.o. "oeu"), /u/ (c.m.o. "o") and /y/ (c.m.o. "u").

Syntax

The most frequent word order is subject–verb–object but all the other orders are possible when there isn't any ambiguity: the inversions are commonly used to emphasise the first word.

Examples are:

  • Mi voo a scoeula. "I go to school."
  • Voo a scoeula, mi. Again, this sentence means "I go to school" but in this case, the act of going to school wants to be emphasised.

Like the Italian language, when a proclitic pronoun is used, however, this comes before the verb and the auxiliary:

  • Lù la ved. "He sees her".

The singular third person of the verb is preceded by a proclitic word ("el" for masculine subject, "la" for feminine subject: identical to definite articles) that remind the subject; the singular second person of the verb is preceded by a proclitic word ("te"). There might be, but it's optional, other proclitic words, like "a" in all the persons, or "i" in the plural third person:

  • Luu el suguta a cantà. "He keeps singing."
  • Lee la và in gesa. "She goes to the church."
  • Ti te set ingles. "You are English."

Similarly to Italian, the subject can be tacit:

  • Voo a scoeula.
  • Te set ingles.

Articles

Definite article

The Insubric definite article derives from a Latin distal demonstrative, ille. It can vary according to the gender (feminine or masculine) and number (singular or plural) of the noun. The definite article takes the following forms:

  singular plural
before consonantbefore vowel
masculine el l' i
feminine la

Like the, the Insubric definite article is used with a noun referring to a specific item when both the speaker and the audience know what the item is. It is necessary in the following cases:

Use Example
General categories and abstractions La pascenza a l'è one virtù.
Patience is a virtue.
Name and adjective clusters La Londra veggia a l'è bella.
Old London is beauty.
Languages[1] and academic subjects Mi capissi el todesch.
I understand German.
Countries Mi voeuri visità la Franza.
I want to visit France.
Mountains, rivers and lakes. L'Ada la[2] traversa el lach de Còmm.
The Adda pass through the Como lake.
Seasons La primavera a l'è la mia stagion preferida.
Spring is my favourite season.
Titles, family names Te i chì i Brambilla.
Here are the Brambillas.
Parts of the body El[2] se lava i man.
He washes his hands.
Possessive adjectives El mè pader.
My father.

Unlike the, the definite article is also used with mass nouns and plural nouns with generic interpretation, and with abstract nouns. For example:

  • Me pias el latt. ("I like milk.")
  • Me piasen i romanz. ("I like novels.")
  • El capitalism ha transformaa quest paes chì. ("Capitalism has transformed this country.")

Besides, definite article is used in front of proper nouns:

  • El Giovann m'ha dii. ("John told me.")
  • La Sara stà de cà a Cernusch. ("Sarah lives in Cernusco.")

Western Lombard is a synthetic fusional language.

Indefinite article

The Insubric indefinite article is analogous to the English indefinite article a/an. Like a/an, the Insubric indefinite article is used with a noun referring to a non-specific item, or to a specific item when the speaker and audience do not both know what the item is; so, ho spaccaa ona cadrega rossa ("I broke a red chair"). Unlike a/an, the Insubric indefinite article has a plural form, often translated as some but usually simply omitted in English; so, gh'hinn di liber laggiò ("There are some books over there" or "There are books over there").

The indefinite article takes the following forms:

 singularplural
masculine on di
feminine ona

Inflection of nouns and adjectives

Most of the masculine nouns and adjectives terminate without suffix. This is valid both for the singular and the plural form. Examples are:

  • El milanes ("the milanese") → I milanes ("the milanese people")
  • L'amis ("the friend") → I amis ("the friends")

Most of the feminine singular nouns and adjectives are formed by adding an "-a" as a suffix. The plural, instead, is the same than the masculine form.

  • La milanesa ("the milanese woman") → I milanes ("the milanese women")
  • L'amisa ("the girlfriend") → I amis ("the girlfriends").

Variants
Creation of the feminine form
The feminine form is not created by simply adding an "-a" when the word ends with:
  • -aa, -ii, -uu → -ada, -ida, -uda
El fidanzaa ("the fiancé") → La fidanzada ("the fiancé")
Veduu ("seen", masc.) → Veduda ("seen", fem.)
Creation of the plural form for masculine nouns
Nouns do not change form when they become plural unless the word terminates with:
  • -e, -o → -i
El corno ("the horn") → I corni ("the horns")
  • -on → -oni (even if also "-on" is accepted[3])
El canton ("the corner" or "the canton") → I cantoni ("the corners" or "the cantons")
  • -tt → -cc
El tett ("the roof") → I tecc ("the roofs"), unless -ett is vezzegiativ
  • -ll → -j
El cavall ("the horse") → I cavaj ("horses")
El bagain ("the little boy") → I bagaitt ("the little boys")
but, El cammin ("the pathway") → I cammin ("the pathways")
Creation of the plural form for feminine nouns
  • -a → -
La nevoda ("the granddaughter" or "the niece") → I nevod ("the granddaughters" or "the nieces")
  • -nia → -gn
La linia ("the line") → I lign ("the lines")
  • -ca, -ga → -ch, -gh
La cadrega ("the chair") → I cadregh ("the chairs")
  • -òa, -ea → -ia
  • -oa, -ua → -ov (La lengua, i lengov)
La lengua ("the tongue") → I lengov ("the tongues")
  • -ma, -na → -mm, -nn
Carina ("nice", fem. sing.) → Carinn ("nice", plur.)
  • -tt → -cc
La nòtt ("the night") → I nòcc ("the nights")
  • -bra, -dra, -gra, -pra, -tra, -vra > -ber, -der, -gher, -per, -ter, -ver
La Scendra ("the ash") → I scender ("the ashes")

Nouns

Every Insubric noun has a grammatical gender, either masculine or feminine. There is no case inflection. Articles and adjectives agree in gender and number with the noun they refer to.

Usually, masculine nouns are unmarked whilst feminine nouns carry the suffix "-a"; the plural is unmarked, like the masculine feminine. Thus, the most common declension paradigm for Western Lombard names is the one that follows:

Example:
declension of gatt ("cat")
 singularplural
masculine gatt gatt
feminine gatta

For exceptions, see Insubric grammar#Variants

Gender inflection

The grammatical gender of a noun referring to a human usually corresponds to the noun's natural gender (i.e., its referent's sex or gender). For such nouns, there will very often be one noun of each gender, with the choice of noun being determined by the natural gender of the person described; for example, a male writer is a scrittor, while a female writer is a scrittora.

Alike French and Italian, a plural noun that refers to both males and females is masculine.

Alteration

As in Italian and in Spanish, in Western Lombard altered nouns are nouns with particular shades of meaning. They are divided into diminutives, "vezzegiativ" (diminutives with kindness and sympathy nuance), augmentatives, and pejoratives.

Suffix Role Example
"-on" augmentative alber ("tree") alberon
"-ott" augmentative + vezzegiativ/pejorative scior ("mister") sciorott ("squire")
"-in" (remember the plural form: "-itt") diminutive bagai ("boy") bagain
"-ett" (remember the plural form: -itt) diminutive + vezzegiativ "vegg" ("old") vegett ("old man")
"-ell" diminutive + vezzegiativ pover ("poor") poverell ("poor man")
"-oeu" (solo m.) vezzegiativ can ("dog") cagnoeu
"-asc" pejorative (often in an ironic meaning) savor ("taste") savorasc
"-usc" pejorative + diminutive (it's used with worthless things and people) dottor ("actor") dottorusc


Pronouns

Personal pronouns

Western Lombard features a sizeable set of pronouns. Personal pronouns are inflected for person, number, case, and, in the third person, gender.

Personal pronouns are normally dropped in the subject, as the conjugation is usually enough to determine the grammatical person. They are used when some emphasis is needed, e.g. son lombard ("I am Lombard") vs. mi son lombard ("I [specifically, as opposed to others] am Lombard").

Insubric personal pronouns
Nominative Dative Accusative Reflexive
Tonic form Proclitic subject Proclitic form Enclitic form Stressed form Proclitic form Enclitic form
sg. 1st mi (a) mi -m a mi me -m me (se)
2nd ti te ti -t a ti te -t te se
3rd m. lù el/l' ghe -gh a lù el/l'/la -l el se
f. lee la a lee l'/la -la la se
pl. 1st num (or nunch) (a) ghe -gh a num ghe -gh se
2nd informal vialter (a) ve -v a vialter ve -v ve (se)
formal vuu
3rd lor i ghe -gh a lor i -i (i) se

Possessive pronouns
  possessed
singularplural
masculinefeminine
possessor 1st person singular el mèla miai mè
plural el nosterla nostrai noster
2nd person singular el tòla tuai tò
plural el vosterla vostrai voster
3rd person singular el sòla suai soeu
plural

Verbs

Western Lombard verbs express an action or a state of being of a given subject, and like verbs in most of the Indo-European languages, Insubric verbs undergo inflection according to the following categories:

Verbs in the finite moods (indicative, imperative, subjunctive, and conditional) are conjugated to agree with their subjects in person (first, second, or third) and number (singular or plural). As in Italian, the subject may be tacit (Insubric is a null-subject language).

Auxiliary verbs are combined with past participles of main verbs to produce compound tenses. For most main verbs the auxiliary is (the appropriate form of) avè ("to have"), but for reflexive verbs and certain intransitive verbs the auxiliary is a form of vess ("to be"). The participle agrees with the subject when the auxiliary is vess. Forms of vess are also used with the past participles of transitive verbs to form the passive voice.

Unlike other Romance languages, in Western Lombard it does exist the negative form of the imperative.

Insubric has four conjugations:

  • The first conjugation class consists of all verbs with infinitives ending in "-à".
  • The second conjugation class consists of all verbs with infinitives in "-è" (included the verb avè, "to have").
  • The third conjugation class consists of all other verbs terminating with a consonant (included the verb vess, "to be").
  • The fourth conjugation class consists of all verbs with infinitives in "-ì".

Adverbs

An adjective can be made into a modal adverb by adding -ment (analogous to the English "-ly") to the ending of the feminine singular form of the adjective. E.g.:

  • giusta ("correct", fem.) becomes giustament ("correctly")
  • vera ("true", fem.) becomes verament ("truly")

Adjectives ending in -r or -l simply add -ment:

  • fazzil ("easy") becomes fazzilment ("easily")
  • particolar ("particular") becomes particolarment ("particularly").

In other cases, a periphrasis is used instead:

  • a la svelta ("quickly")
  • adasi adasi ("slowly")

There are also some cases of adverbs that are typically Insubric:

  • abellasi ("slowly")
  • inevid ("unwillingly")

Adverbial phrase are really common in Western Lombard:

  • in genoggion ("on one's knees")
  • a tomborlon ("head-over-heels", "upside down")
  • de balossett ("cunningly")
  • de cativ ("badly" or "wrongly")

Adverbs of time
  • adess ("now")
  • poeu ("then")
  • incoeu ("today")
  • ier ("yesterday")
  • doman ("tomorrow")
  • prima ("before")
  • despoeu, depos ("after")
  • semper ("always")
  • de spess ("often")
  • mai ("never")
  • ancamò, anmò ("again")
  • nancamò, nonanmò ("not yet")

Prepositions

Western Lombard prepositions link two related parts of a sentence. In word order, they are placed in front of a noun in order to specify the relationship between the noun and the verb, adjective, or other noun that precedes it.

The basic Insubric prepositions are:

  • de ("from", "of", "about")
  • a ("to", "at")
  • da ("from", "by", "since")
  • in ("in", "on", "to")
  • cont ("with"), con when followed by consonant
  • su ("on")
  • per ("for", "through")
  • intra ("between", "among")
  • sòtta ("under")
  • sora ("upon")

Sora and sòtta are prepositions and, rarely, adverbs: the corresponding adverbs are de sora and de sòtta.

The basic prepositions de, a and su can be combined with an article (only el and i) to create an articulated preposition:

de a su
+ el del al sul
+ la de la a la su la
+ i di ai sui

To make the basic preposition in an articulated one, the articulated form of the preposition de must be used: in + el forms in del, in + la forms in de la, and in + i forms in di.

References
  1. The article can be exempt in several cases when using the passive voice: Quel liber chì a l'è scrivuu in frances.
  2. proclitic word, not an article
  3. El canton ("the corner" or "the canton") → I canton ("the corners" or "the cantons")

Subdivision

Insubric grammar has some geographical mutation. The main sections can be:

  • Milanese grammar
  • Southwestern Lombard grammars
  • Brianzoeu, Comasco-Lecchese, Varesino and Ticinese grammars
  • Alpine Lombard grammar

Biography
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