Ingli
From Dana Nutter's Conlangs
| Proposed international auxiliary language (IAL) or world auxilliary language (WAL) based mainly upon English, but with simplified phonology, orthography and a creoleistic-style grammar. |
| FABA | Under Construction | En Desarroyo | 建设中 | 建设中 | 建設中 | im Bau |
Contents |
Alphabet, Orthography and Pronunciation
Ingli writing is based on the Roman alphabet. There are 5 vowels, and 20 consonants for a total of 25 letters. The letter Q is not used.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T U V W X Y Z a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p r s t u v w x y z
- Consonants
Name Letter IPA Pronunciation Example bravo B b b Voiced bilabial stop Like b in babble. cali C c ʧ Voiceless postalveolar affricate Like ch in church. delta D d d Voiced dental stop Like d in dad. fastrat F f f Voiceless labiodental fricative Like f in fife. golf G g g Voiced velar stop Like g in gag. hotel H h h Voiceless velar fricative Like h in house. juliet J j ʤ Voiced postalveolar affricate Like j and g in judge. kilo K k k Voiceless velar stop Like k in kick lima L l l Lateral approximant Like l in lilac. maik M m m Bilabial nasal Like m in mime. novemba N n n Dental nasal Like n in nine. papa P p p Voiceless bilabial stop Like p in pipe. romio R r ɹ Postalveolar approximant Like r in hurry. siera S s s Voiceless alveolar fricative Like s in sister. tango T t t Voiceless dental stop Like t in title. vikta V v v Voiced labiodental fricative Like v in verve. wiski W w w Bilabial approximant Like w in wet. exrei X x ʃ Voiceless postalveolar fricative Like sh in sheesh. yanki Y y j Palatal approximant Like y in yes. zibra Z z z Voiced alveolar fricative Like z in zone or doze.
- Vowels
Name Letter IPA Pronunciation Example alfa A a a Almost fully open vowel Like a in father, or a in flora. eko E e e Mid front unrounded vowel Like e in met or bet. india I i i / j Close front unrounded vowel Like i in machine. When combined with another vowel, like y in yes. oska O o o Mid back rounded vowel Like o in dome. unifom U u u / w Close back rounded vowel Like oo in soon. When combined with another vowel, like w in wet.
- A may also be reduced to ə in the final position.
- E may also be reduced to ə in unstressed syllables.
- Diphthongs
Spelling IPA Pronunciation Example AI ai aj Like igh in high or y in my. AU au aw Like ou in house. EI ei ej Like ei in eight or a in make. OI oi oj Like oy in toy.
Vocabulary
The size of the lexicon is greatly reduced from that of English which has many synonyms, as well as terms that could be derived from others. While there is a somewhat systematic method to introducing vocabulary, there are still some exceptional cases where a different word form was chosen to avoid homonyms. Some words have also been slightly altered to improve euphony. This generally consists of dropping consonants within clusters. Vocabulary for Ingli is taken primarily from English, but there are a lot of exceptions which are generally there to improve global recognition.
Many words are taken from well-known international vocabulary. Much of it comes from terminology used in science, technology, medicine, commerce, politics, acedemia, etc.
- arjent = silver
- hepat = liver
- kredit = credit
- okei = okay
- dent = tooth
- taksi = taxi
- hotel = hotel
- faks = fax
Some base numerals are taken from familiar Greek or Latinate roots.
- un = one
- du = two
- tri = three
- kuad = four
- pen = five
- sep = seven
- okto = eight
- nov = nine
Larger numerals are taken from widely-known Metric System prefixes.
- deka = ten
- hekto = hundred
- kilo = thousand
- mega = million
Geographic names are taken from the native name as spoken in the language of the local peoples. In cases where there are multiple possible names, the names are taken from the dominant or official language.
- Doitxland = Germany
- Junguo = China
- Nihon = Japan
- Barat = India
- Landen = London
- Nu-York = New York
- Krun-Tep = Bangkok
- Yerusalem = Jerusalem
- Los-Anjeles = Los Angeles
Days of the week, and the months of the year are taken from numbers.
- Unamans = January
- Dumans = February
- Dekadumans = December
- Undei = Monday
- Dudei = Tuesday
- Sepdei = Sunday
In other cases, the words are usually taken from English vocabulary. English words from Greek or Latin sources are generally formed to preserve their spelling as much as possible to keep them closer to their cognates in other languages. Other words where this is not an issue are formed to preserve the English pronunciation as much as possible.
- flawa = flour
- suit = sweet
Pronouns
Pronouns, like nouns, do not inflect for case, number or gender.
Personal
- mi = I, me
- yu = you, thou
- da = he, him, she, her, it, they, them
To say "we" combine mi with yu or da to indicate an inclusive or exclusive relationship.
- miyu = you and I
- mida = he/she/them and I
Reflexive
- sau = myself; ourselves; yourself; thyself; himself; herself; itself; themselves
Reciprocal
- icoda = each other; one another
Impersonal
- on = one, someone
Negative
- notin = nobody, noone, nothing
Demonstrative
- dis = this (one), these
- dat = that (one), those
Interrogative
- wa = who, what
Verbs
Inflection
Verbs in Ingli use an isolating structure therefore do not inflect for person, number or gender as in English or other European languages.
Tense / Aspect
Tense or aspect are indicated by adverbs so they should only be used when needed for clarity or emphasis.
Some common adverbs are:
nau now (Present tense) di did (Past tense) wi will (Future tense) ri again
Transitivity
For verbs which take a direct object, the suffix -in is added.
mi it I am eating mi itin bred I am eating bread
Passive
The subject and object can be reversed with the use of the auxiliary bi .
mi itin apel I ate the apple apel bi itin mi The apple was eaten by me
Adjectives
Adjectives, like the nouns they modify, do not inflect. Adjectives directly precede the noun they qualify. Nouns or verbs can be made into adjectives by adding the suffix -i .
Comparative and Superlative
Comparative adjectives are formed by the preceding them with the adverb mo (more), or le (less). Superlatives use the adverbs mos (most), or les (least) .
mo big haus more big house
bigger house
mos big haus most big house
biggest house
le big haus less big house
less big house
les big haus least big house
least big house
Conjunctions
Overview
en and o or bat but kaz because if if den then so so
Word Building
Many new words can be formed by added affixes to the existing root to create a different meaning.
Prefixes
an- un-, in-, a(n)-, non- (negative) du- di-, duo-, bi- hi- he- (male) tri- tri-, ter- xi- she- (female) un- uni-, mono-
Suffixes
-a -er, -or (agentive) -i, -li (after a vowel) -y; -ly (forms adjectives or adverbs from nouns and verbs) -ia -y; -ity; -ness; -ia (abstract)
Syntax
Basic Word Order
A basic sentence occurs as subject, verb, object (SVO). Any indirect objects follow afterwards each introduced by appropriate Prepositions .
- mi givin buk tu da.
- I giving book to he.
- I gave a book to him.
- da ridin buk.
- he reading book.
- He read the book.
Sample Texts
UDHR
Atikel 1 Al human bi bon libri en egali fo digniti en rait. Al da bi hav wit rizen en kanxens en xud du tu icoda wit spirit av bradia.
Pater Noster
Mida Papa Mida papa, dat bi a Heven,
Yu nem bi santi.
Yu kinia go tu mida.
yu wil bi du,
a Ert az a Heven.
Givin de bred tu mida a dis de,
en fogivin mida fo mida sin,
az mida fogivin dat wa sin anti mida.
En no gidin mida tu temptin,
bat sevin mida fra ivel.
