| Syldavian | |
| Nativename: | Artificial languages: Зйлдав, Artificial languages: Zyldav |
| Pronunciation: | pronounced as //zɪldav// |
| States: | Syldavia |
| Region: | Balkans |
| Ethnicity: | Syldavians |
| Speakers: | 642,000 (1939) |
| Date: | NA |
| Ref: | (fictional) |
| Familycolor: | constructed |
| Fam1: | Indo-European |
| Fam2: | Germanic |
| Fam3: | West Germanic |
| Fam4: | Weser–Rhine Germanic |
| Fam5: | Low Franconian |
| Fam6: | Dutch |
| Fam7: | Brabantian |
| Fam8: | Southern |
| Fam9: | Pajots |
| Fam10: | Brusselian |
| Script: | Cyrillic Latin |
| Nation: | Syldavia |
| Agency: | unknown |
| Creator: | Hergé |
| Created: | 1939 |
| Setting: | The Adventures of Tintin |
| Posteriori: | Dutch Marols |
| Iso3: | none |
| Glotto: | none |
| Ietf: | art-x-syldavia |
Syldavian is a fictional West Germanic language created by Hergé as the national language of Syldavia, a fictional Balkan kingdom that serves as a major setting in many of The Adventures of Tintin stories. Hergé modeled the language on Brusselian, a dialect of Dutch spoken in and around Brussels. The entire corpus of the language has been analyzed by Mark Rosenfelder.
As presented in the Tintin books, Syldavian has a superficial resemblance to certain Central European languages, particularly Polish and Hungarian, due to its orthography. Like Serbian, it uses both the Cyrillic and Latin scripts, although apparently in somewhat different contexts; it is most commonly written in the Cyrillic alphabet, albeit with the Latin alphabet by the royal court. It shares numerous orthographic features found in various Eastern European languages, most notably the "sz" and "cz" of Polish.
However, the language is clearly a Germanic language. Its vocabulary and grammar resembles that of Dutch and German and has little in common with any Slavic languages. But while Brusselian, Hergé's native dialect, was used as a basis for the language, Syldavian has a much more complicated grammar, with other Central European influences added.
The language also appears to have been influenced by Bordurian (another fictional language), Slavic languages and Turkish. The Syldavians often bear names of Slavic origin, such as Wladimir; the dish Uncoded languages: szlaszeck that Tintin encountered also appears to be a borrowing. (is the Polish word for shish kebab, borrowed in turn from Turkish.) Many words are based on common French slangs. For examples, Artificial languages: klebcz is constructed on the French Parisian slang French: clebs meaning "dog".
This language, which is Germanic but bears a great resemblance to Polish, may be likened to the artificial Romance language Wenedyk, or to the endangered Wymysorys language.
Syldavian boasts a rich range of sounds.
In addition to the diacritical marks shown in the chart below, there are acute and grave accents that may indicate stress.
Roman letters are on the left, Cyrillic letters on the right.
| Front | Back | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| unrounded | rounded | |||
| Close | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | |
| Near-close | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | ||
| Close-mid | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | |
| Open-mid | pronounced as /link/~pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | ||
| Near-open | ||||
| Open | pronounced as /link/ | |||
In addition to these letters, Syldavian also contains several digraphs and letters for which the pronunciation is uncertain:
Roman letters are on the left, Cyrillic letters on the right.
| Bilabial | Labiodental | Alveolar | Postalveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | ||||||
| Plosive | pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ | |||||
| Fricative | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | ||
| Affricate | pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ | ||||||
| Trill | pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ | |||||||
| Approximant | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ |
Note: As in Czech, the letter can be syllabic, as seen in names such as Staszrvitch and Dbrnouk.
There are some additional digraphs and trigraphs, including (used in names and pronounced with pronounced as /link/, the apparent Syldavian version of the common Serbo-Croatian/Balkan surname ending -ić), (uncertain, but may be an alternative form of pronounced as /link/), and pronounced as /link/. These demonstrate that the Latin-based orthography has a number of irregularities, or else these are old inconsistent spellings that have been preserved in family names but are no longer used in the standard orthography (as in Hungarian, where for example one may find the family name Széchenyi retaining a traditional spelling rather than the orthographically correct *Szécsenyi).
Note that Syldavian Cyrillic diverges in some important respects from Cyrillic as used in real-world languages, most notably by porting over Latin digraphs into the Cyrillic alphabet (for example, /ʃ/ is written "сз" instead of "ш"), and to use a few Cyrillic letters (щ, ю) for sounds for which they are never used in the real world. This, together with the use of Latin script in old medieval manuscripts, may suggest that the Syldavians adopted the Latin alphabet first, and the Cyrillic later, which is the reverse of several real-world languages (most notably Romanian) which switched from Cyrillic to Latin.
Unlike Marols, but like German (shown in italics in the table), Syldavian definite articles are extensively inflected.
| Masc./Fem. | Neut. | Plural | |
| Nom. | dze der/die | dascz das | dzoe die |
| Acc. | dzem den/die | dascz das | dzoe die |
| Dat. | dze dem/der | dza dem | dzem den |
| Gen. | doscz des/der | doscz des | doscz der |
Adjectives precede nouns:[1]
Artificial languages: forwotzen zona 'prohibited area'; Zekrett Politzs 'Secret Police'.
There is no sufficient evidence to tell whether adjectives change form. The rules of Dutch, a control language of Syldavian, are very complex.
Note: the derivation Klow > Klowaswa is merely one of many adjectivizations, however, compare Zyldav 'Syldavian'
Adjectives can be used to modify verbs like adverbs:
Nadja Wladimir zekrett löwt. 'Nadja secretly loves Vladimir'
Dzapeih wzryzkar eszt on vaghabontz. 'The guy is surely a tramp.'
| Sub. | Obj. | Poss. | |
| 1 sing. | ek | ma | mejn |
| 2 sing. | dûs | da | dejn |
| 3 sing. m. | eih | itd | yhzer |
| 3 sing. n. | itd | ein | zsejn |
| 3 sing. f. | zsoe | irz | yhzer |
| 1 plur. | vei | ohmz | ohmz |
| 2 plur. | jei | jou | öhz |
| 3 plur. | zsoe | khon | khon |
- this
- that
Verbs are either weak or strong. This decides how they are conjugated.[1]
Strong verb: Artificial languages: blavn 'to stay'
| Pres. Ind. | Past Ind. | Subj. | Imp. | Pres. Part. | Past Part. | |
| 1 sing. | blav | blev | blavetz | - | blavendz | bleven |
| 2 sing. |
|
|
| blaveh | blavendz | bleven |
| 3 sing. | blavet | blev | blavetz | - | blavendz | bleven |
| 1 plur. | blaven | bleven | blavendz | - | blavendz | bleven |
| 2 plur. |
|
|
| blavet | blavendz | bleven |
| 3 plur. | blaven | bleven | blavendz | blavendz | bleven | |
| Pres. Ind. | Past Ind. | Subj. | Imp. | Pres. Part. | Past Part. | |
| 1 sing. | löw | löwda | löwetz | - | löwendz | löwen |
| 2 sing. |
|
|
| löweh | löwendz | löwen |
| 3 sing. | löwt | löwda | löwetz | - | löwendz | löwen |
| 1 plur. | löwen | löwenda | löwendz | - | löwendz | löwen |
| 2 plur. |
|
|
| löwet | löwendz | löwen |
| 3 plur. | löwen | löwenda | löwendz | löwendz | löwen | |
To negate a sentence, the particle nietz is placed after the subject, in auxiliary position.
Müsstler nietz dzem könikstz löwt. 'Müsstler does not love the king.'
In copulative sentences, nietz is placed after the verb (or czesztot) :
Müsstler eszt nietz güdd. 'Müsstler is not good.'
Czesztot wzryzkar nietz on waghabontz! 'That's surely not a vagabond!'
Most adverbs tend to be identical to adjectives in form. Adverbs can be used to modify verbs:
Nadja Wladimir zekrett löwt. 'Nadja secretly loves Vladimir'
Dzapeih wzryzkar eszt on vaghabontz. 'The guy is surely a tramp.'
Artificial languages: szplug - a curse word, perhaps equivalent to "damn". (Not found in original French edition, only English translation.)
Artificial languages: szplitz on szplug- a more extreme form of Artificial languages: szplug
Artificial languages: hamaïh!- praising or surprise, could be something like "hail!" or "wow!"
Artificial languages: hält!- a command, probably meaning "stop!" or "halt!"
Artificial languages: szcht!- another command, sounds almost like "shh!" and perhaps means "silence!"
Artificial languages: zsálu- a greeting, probably "salute" or "hello".
The verb normally follows the object:[1]
Artificial languages: Ihn dzekhoujchz blaveh! 'In the car stay!'
Artificial languages: Ek mejn mädjek löw. 'I love my girlfriend.'
Artificial languages: On sprädj werlagh. 'I want some red wine.'
Where there's an auxiliary and a main verb, the main verb remains at the end, and the auxiliary verb moves just after the subject:
Artificial languages: Zsoe ghounh dzoeteuïh ebb touhn.' 'They're going to open the doors.'
Artificial languages: Ek werlagh ihn Klow blavn. 'I want to stay in Klow.'
In earlier Syldavian the pronoun may follow the verb, and this form may still be used for emphasis:[1]
Artificial languages: Eih bennec, eih blavec. 'Here I am, here I stay.' [medieval spelling]
Artificial languages: Wzryzkar kzomme ek! 'I'm coming, for sure!'
You can say either Eihn ben ek, Eihn bennek or Ek ben eihn, but never *Eihn ek ben (unlike English, where you can say 'Here I am'). In general "X is Y" can be inverted to "Y is X". When X is a pronoun, the inversion adds some emphasis:
Artificial languages: Güdd eszt itd, 'Good it is.'
In the Artificial languages: kzommet sentences in the corpus, prepositional phrases follow the verb. The comma, however, is a signal that the prepositional phrase has been moved for emphasis, or because it is an afterthought:
Artificial languages: Kzommet micz omhz, noh dascz gendarmaskaïa! Come with us to the police station!
Forms of 'be' directly follow the subject :
Könikstz eszt güdd. 'The king is good.'
Sbrodj on forwotzen eszt zona . 'Sbrodj is a forbidden zone.'
Artificial languages: Dan dzetronn eszt ervöh. 'Then the throne is for him.'
The merged form Artificial languages: czesztot 'it is, that is' begins a sentence: Czesztot Tintin. "That's Tintin."
Samples of Syldavian from only two periods - the 14th century and the 20th century - are available. But even with such a small sample, some changes can be seen in the language over a 600-year period:
From a 14th-century manuscript, Noble Deeds of Ottokar IV:
Medieval Spelling
Artificial languages: "Pir Ottocar, dûs pollsz ez cönicstz, dan tronn eszt pho mâ." Czeillâ czäídâ ön eltcâr alpû, "Kzommetz lapzâda pacceho." Cönicstz itd ön alpû clöppz Staszrvitchz erom szûbel ön. Dâzsbíc fällta öpp ön cârrö.
Modern Spelling
Artificial languages: "Pir Ottokar, dûs pollsz ez könikstz, dan tronn eszt vöh mâ." Czeillâ czäídâ o eltkâr alpû, "Kzommetz lapzâda pakkeho." Könikstz itd o alpû klöppz Staszrvitchz erom szûbel o. Dâzsbíck fällta öpp o kârrö.
Cyrillic Spelling
Artificial languages: "Пир Оттокар, дўс поллсз ез кёникстз, дан тронн есзт вёщ мӕ.” Чеиллӕ чяѝдӕ о елткӕр алпў, “Кзомметз лапзӕда паккещо.” Кёникстз итд о алпў клёппз Стасзрвитчз ером сзўбел о. Дӕзсбѝк фяллта ёпп о кӕррё.
English translation:
"Father Ottokar, thou falsely art king; the throne is for me." This one said thus to the other, "Come seize the sceptre." The king thus hit him, Staszrvitch, on his head. The villain fell onto the floor."
More Examples
Artificial languages: Czesztot on klebcz. - "That's a dog."
Artificial languages: Hamaïh! - "Hail!" (The Bordurian language borrows this as Artificial languages: Amaïh)
Artificial languages: Kzommet micz omhz, noh dascz gendarmaskaïa. - "Come with us to the Police Station." (in the English translation.) Artificial languages: Gendarmaskaïa is a borrowing from French French: gendarme. The suffix Artificial languages: -skaïa is also apparently borrowed from the Russian feminine adjective ending Russian: -ская.
Artificial languages: On fläsz Klowaswa vüh dzapeih... Eih döszt! - "A bottle of Klow water for this guy... He's thirsty!" (cf. Dutch Dutch; Flemish: dorst & cf. Swedish Swedish: törst, "thirst". (Lit. 'He thirsts!')
Artificial languages: Czesztot wzryzkar nietz on waghabontz! Czesztot bätczer yhzer kzömmetz noh dascz gendarmaskaïa? - "That's surely not a tramp! Isn't it better for him to come to the police station?" (Lit. probably "Is it better [that] he comes to the police station?")
Artificial languages: Rapp! Noh dzem buthsz! - "Quick! Into the boat!" (cognate literally to German German: Nach dem Boot!)