Folkspraak

Folkspraak is an incomplete zonal constructed language based on Germanic languages and intended to be easy to learn for any native speaker of a Germanic language, making it suitable to be a sort of lingua franca amongst the Germanic languages community.[1]

Folkspraak
Created by	Collaborative work
Date	1995-
Users	small internet-based groups
Purpose	constructed languages international auxiliary languages zonal constructed languages Folkspraak
Sources	Vocabulary, phonology and grammar from Germanic languages
Language codes
ISO 639-3	None (mis)
Glottolog	None

The project's development took place mostly online in a Yahoo group, though disagreements about grammar and orthography means that there are several different versions or "dialects".[1] Disagreement occurs even over which source languages to use, so that only some developers draw from Frisian, Low German and Norwegian Nynorsk, next to the usual source languages of English, Dutch, German, Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, and Swedish.[1]

Phonology

Data from: Omniglot

Consonants

		Labial	Coronal		Dorsal	Laryngeal
Nasal		m	n		ŋ
Stop	Voiceless	p	t		k	h
	Voiced	b	d		ɡ
Fricative	Voiceless	f	s	ʃ	x
	Voiced	v	z
Affricate			ts	tʃ
Approximant		ʋ	l		j
Rhotic			r

Vowels

Long vowels

		Front	Back
Close	Unrounded	iː
	Rounded	yː	uː
Mid	Unrounded	eː
	Rounded	øː	oː
Open		ɑː

Short vowels

		Front	Back
Close	Unrounded	ɪ
	Rounded	ʏ	ʊ
Mid		ɛ	ɔ
Open		a

Orthography

Folkspraak alphabet is identical to the ISO basic Latin alphabet. Double consonants and consonant groups signalize short vowels. The ⟨c⟩ represents /s/ in front of front vowels (⟨e i y eu⟩) and /k/ in any other position. The digraphs ⟨th⟩ and ⟨ph⟩ represent the same pronunciation as ⟨t⟩ and ⟨p⟩, respectively.

Grammar

Morphology

Folkspraak has no adjectival or verbal variation. Nouns made from adjectives as well as infinitives end in -e as in de andere ('the other') and have ('to have'). There is no distinction between adjectives and adverbs.

There is no grammatical gender or cases except with personal pronouns: si ('she'), hi ('he'), ik ('I'), mi ('me').

The plurals of nouns are made with -e or, if a noun ends with an unstressed syllable, with -s. Mann (man), manne (men), auto (car), autos (cars).

Syntax

The basic word order is subject–verb–object (SVO). Questions are made by inversion to VSO.

Samples

The Lord's Prayer in several Folkspraak varieties/dialects:

Folkspraak	Folksprak	Middelsprake	Boksprak	Fůlkspræk
Ons Fater, whem leven in der Himmel, Mai din Name werden helig, Mai din Konigdom kommen, Mai din will werden, in der Erd und in der Himmel. Geven os distdag ons Brod, Und forgiv ons sindens, samme Weg als wi forgiv dem whem eren skuld to uns. Und test os nihte, men spare os fraum der Sind.	Usser fader, in de himmel, wes dain nam helig dain koningdum schall komme dain will schall wese dan, so upann erd als in himmel. Giv us disdag usser brod, end fergiv us usser schuld, als wi fergiv dem weh schuld gegn us. End lad us nit in fersyking doch mak us fri fron yvel.	User Fader wae is in de hevel, din name schal wese helliged, din rik schal kom, din wille schal schee, so up erd as in de hevel. Geve us dis dag user daglig broed on forgeve us user skuld as wi forgeve dat af anderes. On late us nik wese forsoeked doch make us fri fran oevel fordat dines is de macht on de herlighed antil in everighed. Amen.	Onser Fader in de hemmen, Werde heliged din nam, Kome din rick, Gescheje din will, Hu in de hemmen, so up de erd. Gev ons hidag onser daglik brod. Ond fergev ons onser schuld, Hu ok wi fergev dem onser schuldern. Ond led ons nit in ferseuking, Aver erleus ons af de yvel. (Als din er de rick ond de macht Ond de herlikhed in eeighed.) Amen.	Ůnsĕr Fadĕr ĭn đă ħemmĕn, Werđĕ ħạlĭgĕd đin nam, Kwe̊mĕ đin rikj, Găskeƕĕ đin wėll, Hu ĭn đă ħemmĕn, so ŭp đă erđ. Geƀ ůns ħidag ůnsĕr dãglĭk brḁđ. Ůnđ fĕrgeƀ ůns ůnsĕr skuld, Hu ḁk wi fĕrgeƀ đĕm ůnsĕr skuldĕrĕn. Ůnđ led ůns nĭt ĭn fĕrsȍking, Aƀĕr ŭtlọs ůns ăf đă ȕbĕl. (Alns đin ez đă rikj ůnđ đă maħt Ůnđ đă ħạrlĭkħạd ĭn ạwĭgħạd.) Amĕn.

See also

• Linguistic purism in English – Efforts at retaining Germanic influences in the English language
• Pan-Germanic language
• Zonal constructed language

Notes

1. Folkspraak at omniglot.com

External links

• Folksprak.org - containing information like grammar, vocabulary and a wiki
• Folkspraak Omniglot page
• English-Folksprak dictionary
• Folkspraak on Wikibooks