User:James E Wilary/Sandbox-MKarticle-full

Meckelnish
Meckelnburghish
Mächeleböörchs
Pronunciation	[ˈmæˑxəl(ə)ˌbøːɹ̈xs]
Native to	Meckelnburgh Alexandretta Siegrwangria The Clanlands Branniboria
Region	Northern Apollonia Tallandor Bay Crowsilver Sea Esthar
Ethnicity	Meckelners
Native speakers	approx. [unknown]
Language family	Pancontinental Prætaic–Arminic Crando-Batavian Apollo-Batavian Meckelnish
Early forms	Proto-Crando-Batavian Old Low Maas Old Meckelnish Early Modern Meckelnish
Standard form	Victoria University Standard
Dialects	Insular (Branniboria)
Writing system	Audente script (Meckelnish alphabet)
Official status
Official language in	United Kingdom of Meckelnburgh  Meckelnburgh  Branniboria
Regulated by	Royal Academy of Letters
Language codes
MOS-9 codes	mk

Phonology

Meckelnish shares a phonological system with the broader Crando-Batavian languages, including a complex syllable structure extending to (C)(C)(C)V(C)(C)(C)(C)—a syllable may include a single vowel core preceded by up to three-sound consonant clusters and followed by four-sound clusters. However, there are a few notable exceptions unique to the Apollo-Batavian branch. Meckelnish retains productive dental fricative phonemes (/θ/ and /ð/) from Proto-Crando-Batavian. The system of palatalization, leading to sound change, has also expanded through a generalization of the weak realization in Batavian (where the sequence ⟨sj⟩ creates /ʃ/, as in Meckelnish).

The Meckelnish language is stress-initial in native roots, and stress does not serve to distinguish native words. Secondary stress is placed in compound words on the second word. Where a prefix is used, such as /gə-/ in some past-tense verbs, the stress remains on the first syllable of the root. Outside of morphological contexts, unstressed /ə/ is heavily subject to deletion causing the loss of syllables.

Historic monophthongs

	Front				Back
	unrounded		rounded
	long	short	long	short	long	short
Close	iː	i	yː	y	uː	u
Mid	eː	eː	øː	ø	oː	o
Open	æː				ɑː	ɑ

The vowel system of Meckelnish is subject to different interpretations. There are 15 vowels which may serve in a phonemic role, but only seven to eight vowel spaces—where other short or reduced vowels are derivative of the cardinal stressed vowels. In Old Meckelnish, sounds such as /ɛ/ were formally the short counterparts of the cardinal vowels, in this instance /e/ (see table). Only long vowels, such as /eː/, have retained their original quality while the short vowels have laxed. By laxing, /ø/ since merged into /ʏ/ by the end of Old Low Maas.

Consonants

		Labial		Dental		Alveolar		Post-alveolar		Palatal		Velar		Glottal
Nasal		m				n				(ɲ)		(ŋ)
Plosive/Affricate		p	b			t	d	t͡ʃ	d͡ʒ	(c͡ç)	(ɟ͡ʝ)	k	g
Fricative		f	v	θ	ð	s	z	ʃ	ʒ	(ç)	(ʝ)	x		h	(ɦ)
Approx.	Central									j		ɹ̈
	Lateral					l				(ʎ)		(ɫ)
	Labial									(ɥ)		w

• /x/ is realized in coda-position after close front unrounded vowels (/i/, /ɪ/) as /ç/.
• /n/ is realized in coda-position as /ŋ/ before velar plosives (/k/, /g/) and /g/ is deleted, where /ngk/ clusters realize as /ŋk/.
• /s/ is voiced following voiced consonants (e.g. /b/, /d/, /g/, /m/, /n/) as /z/.
• Voiceless fricatives (/f/, /θ/, /s/, /ʃ/, /h/) are voiced in intervocalic positions as their voiced counterparts (/v/, /ð/, /z/, /ʒ/, /ɦ/).
• Palatalizing consonants (see table) change before /j/ or front rounded vowels (/y/, /ʏ/, /øː/), including intersyllabic.
• Fronting palatalizing consonants change after /j/ or front rounded vowels, including intersyllabic.
• Alveolar plosives and fricatives (/t/, /d/, /s/, /z/) are realized as postalveolar (/t͡ʃ/, /d͡ʒ/, /ʃ/, /ʒ/) before /ɹ̈/.
• /h/ follows a complex allophonic system (see table) realized as /h/, /ɦ/, /x/ or /ç/.
• /d/ lenites to /ð/ intervocalically where not morphologically hardened (e.g. /d/ retained in suffix ⟨-ende⟩).
• Stem-final dental fricatives (/t/, /d/) lenite to /θ/ and /ð/ following an umlauted stem.
• Stem-final /t/ hardens and then lenites /ð/ in intervocalic inflections.
• /l/ is velarized in word-final position as /ɫ/.
• The rhotic may have various realizations, but in standard Meckelnish is the bunched velar form of /ɹ/.
• The voiceless plosives (/p/, /t/, /k/) are aspirated word-initially and onset of stressed syllables ([pʰ], [tʰ], [kʰ]).
• In Meckelnish phonology, /ɹ̈/ is often rendered as /r/ for simplicity and to generalize the rhotic.

Palatalization

	Backing		Fronting
Nasal	n → ɲ
Affricate	t → t͡ʃ	d → d͡ʒ	k, x → c͡ç	g → ɟ͡ʝ
Fricative	s → ʃ	z → ʒ	h → ç	ɹ̈ → ʝ
Approx.	l → ʎ		w → ɥ

H-allophones

Vowels		IPA
Front	rounded	ç
	close
	mid–open	h
Back	close	x
	mid–open	ɦ

Vowels

Cardinal stressed vowels in Meckelnish.

Monophthongs

	Front				Central	Back
	unrounded		rounded
	long	short	long	short		long	short
Close	i	ɪ	y	ʏ	(ə)	u	ʊ
Mid	eː	ɛ	øː			oː	ɔ
Open	æˑ				äː		ɑ

Di- and triphthongs

	Front			Back
	unrounded		rounded
	fronting	backing		fronting	backing
Close		iə̯u̯		ui̯
Mid	ɛi̯	eːu̯	øːy̯	ɔi̯	oːu̯
Open				ɑi̯

• Roots with long vowels (except /i/) shorten when the following syllable begins with a vowel (e.g. /CuC/ > /CʊC.V/).
• /æˑ/ functions in both long and short vowel positions.
• Long vowels only exist in stressed syllables, except in cross-syllable mergers (e.g. former /ze.ənˈtɛɹ̈ə/ > /zeːnˈtɛɹ̈ə/).
• /ə/ can serve in a stressed syllable if it is a minor word (i.e. articles, pronouns, etc.).
• The umlauts of back vowels serve morphological functions, such as various plural nouns and verb tenses (see below).
• Umlauted vowels used only in morphological contexts are included under "Grammar" and omitted for clarity.
• /j/ vocalizes to /i̯/ following a front unrounded or back vowel (e.g. /ɛ/, /ɑ/, /u/) in a syllable
• /j/ vocalizes to /y̯/ following a front rounded vowel (/y/, /øː/, /ʏ/).
• /w/ vocalizes to /u̯/ following a vowel.
• Adjoining /i/ or /ɪ/ merge to /i/, /y/ or /ʏ/ to /y/, and /u/ to /u/, including across syllables.
• /ɛ/ reduces to /ə/ in weak, most unstressed, positions.
• /ə/ deletes in open syllables if a lawful consonant cluster forms and is not morphologically significant (i.e. plurals).
• /j/ is inserted before front rounded vowels (/y/, /øː/, /ʏ/) in bare syllables, with ⟨j⟩ added except word-initially.
• In Meckelnish phonology, /äː/ is often rendered as /aː/ for simplicity and to generalize the open mid rounded vowel.
• Likewise, half-long /æˑ/ is often simplified to /æ/ with no phonemic distinction.

Orthography

Comparison of forms of ⟨ij⟩ in italics.

The Meckelnish language's writing system has retained many of the features seen only in Proto-Crando-Batavian with numerous inventions, with most of the orthography stabilized in the Old Low Maas period. Meckelnish has retained the dental fricatives ⟨þ⟩ and ⟨ð⟩ while using umlauts to indicate fronting. The letter ⟨j⟩ has broad use in indicating the system of palatalization after many consonants, where it becomes a multigraph. The letter ⟨c⟩ has lost all associated sounds, and is only used in multigraphs. The rare letter ⟨ƀ⟩ for Micran languages developed from former ⟨b⟩ where the sound /β/ existed, dividing into /v/, /w/ and /b/ in various contexts. More usual, sound length is usually indicated by doubling the letter (e.g. ⟨a⟩ for /ɑ/ becoming ⟨aa⟩ for /äː/).

Spelling (and orthography) in Meckelnish has been standardized since the Early Meckelnish Era in metropolitan Meckelnburgh on the Genevelond Peninsula through multiple community efforts and later the University of Victoria via the Royal Academy of Letters, known as Victoria University Standard. The Insular Dialect found on Esthar in the constituent country of Branniboria, diverged from over a century of limited contact, adopted similar spelling, albeit for different pronunciations, starting around 1720 AN.

Meckelnish letter names solidified by the Old Meckelnish era. While many letters were based on nouns that applied their sounds, these names have fossilized so that their meanings (or even accompanying words) have not changed in parallel.

Alphabet

Majuscule	A	Ä	B	Ƀ	C	D	E	F	G	H	I	J	K	L	M	N	O	Ö	P	R	S	T	U	Ü	W	IJ	Z	Þ	Ð
Minuscule	a	ä	b	ƀ	c	d	e	f	g	h	i	j	k	l	m	n	o	ö	p	r	s	t	u	ü	w	ij	z	þ	ð
Name

• ⟨ij⟩ is an independent letter formed as a single-character-space ligature.
• In printing, ⟨ij⟩ may appear in majuscule as a modified ⟨U⟩ (especially monospaced), and in minuscule italics similar to ⟨ÿ⟩.
• The front rounded vowels ⟨ä⟩, ⟨ö⟩ and ⟨ü⟩ are written with umlauts, and are separate letters.
• Likewise, the letter ⟨b⟩ with stroke is not merely a variant, but a letter in its own right.
• Other diacritics, such as ⟨é⟩ for word-final /eː/ and ⟨ë⟩ for adjacent cross-syllable vowels, are not independent letters.

Consonants

Consonants

Spelling	IPA
b	/b/
ƀ	/v/
d	/d/
f	/f/
g	/g/
h	/h/, /ɦ/, /ç/, /x/
j	/j/
k	/k/
l	/l/
m	/m/
n	/n/
p	/p/
r	/ɹ̈/
s	/s/, /z/
t	/t/
w	/w/
z	/z/
þ	/θ/
ð	/ð/

Multigraphs

Spelling	IPA
cg	/d͡ʒ/
ch	/x/, /ç/, /c͡ç/
dj	/d͡ʒ/
dsch	/d͡ʒ/
gge	/ɟ͡ʝ/
gj	/ɟ͡ʝ/
hl	/ɫ/
hr	/ʝ/
kj	/c͡ç/
kke	/c͡ç/
lj	/ʎ/
ng	/ŋ/
nj	/ɲ/
sc(h)	/ʃ/
sj	/ʃ/
tsj	/t͡ʃ/
tsch	/t͡ʃ/
wj	/ɥ/
zj	/ʒ/
zsch	/ʒ/

• ⟨h⟩ is deleted syllable-finally, where it is either deleted (/∅/) or becomes ⟨ch⟩ for the appropriate sound.
• Where ⟨j⟩ following a consonant triggers a palatalization change, the ⟨j⟩ becomes part of a digraph.
• However, where ⟨j⟩ after a consonant does not trigger palatalization, it is a consonant cluster (e.g. /bjV/)
• Because palatalization exists across syllable boundaries, consonants merge into the stressed syllable.
• The multigraphs ending in ⟨sch⟩ are used word-finally, while ending in ⟨j⟩ elsewhere.
• As well, the multigraphs ⟨gge⟩ and ⟨kke⟩ are word-final, and ⟨gj⟩ and ⟨kj⟩ otherwise.
• In three exceptions ⟨sj⟩ is ⟨sc⟩ and ⟨dj⟩ is ⟨cg⟩ within a word, and ⟨tj⟩ is ⟨tsj⟩ intervocalically.
• ⟨l⟩ in word-final position when it sounds /ɫ/ is rendered ⟨hl⟩.
• While the historic cluster /ŋg/ is reduced to /ŋ/, ⟨ng⟩ is retained wherever the former /ng/ or /ngk/ existed.
• Except where allophones are explicit (any ⟨h⟩), all but ⟨s⟩ are spelled with the appropriate sound's letter.
• ⟨s⟩ is used for the allophone /z/ where morphological added word-finally (e.g. genitives).
• ⟨ch⟩ serves as /c͡ç/ word-finally instead of ⟨kke⟩ when palatalizing /x/ instead of /k/.
• Where /j/ is added to front rounded vowels in bare syllables, ⟨j⟩ is omitted word-initially.
• Consonants are doubled when following inflected roots where the root vowel was already short.

Vowels

Vowels

Spelling	IPA
	major	minor
a	/ɑ/	/äː/
ä	/æˑ/
e	/ɛ/	/ə/
é	/eː/	—
i	/ɪ/	—
ij	/i/
i‧j	/ɪ.j/
o	/ɔ/	/oː/
ö	/œ/	/øː/
u	/ʊ/	/u/
ü	/ʏ/	/y/

Multigraphs (A–IJ)

Spelling	IPA
aa	/äː/
ai	/ai̯/
au(w)	/oːu̯/
äi	/æˑi̯/
ee	/eː/
eei	/eːi̯/
ei	/ɛi̯/
eu(w)	/eːu̯/
ieu(w)	/iə̯u̯/
ije	/iː/

Multigraphs (O–Ü)

Spelling	IPA
oi	/ɔi̯/
oo	/oː/
öi	/œi̯/
öö	/øː/
öei	/øːi̯/
öu(w)	/øːy̯/
ui	/ui̯/
uu	/u/
üi	/yi̯/
üü	/y/

• Doubled vowel letters indicate the long form of that sound—single letters vary more widely.
• When ⟨j⟩ follows ⟨i⟩, not the letter ⟨ij⟩, an interpunct (⟨i‧j⟩) is put between them to separate them.
• When in a word final position or when followed by a vowel, the di- and triphthongs take a final ⟨w⟩.
• ⟨é⟩ is used in word-final position for /eː/ to distinguish from reduced /ə/.
• ⟨ö⟩ alone is only /œ/ in umlaut, as ⟨ü⟩ stands for the short vowel of /øː/, /ʏ/.
• Where ⟨'⟩ is used for an enclitic form, it stands in for /ə/.

Grammar

Morphological umlaut

	Mono.		Di- and triphthongs
			front		back
	stem	um.	stem	um.	stem	um.
Close	/u/	/y/	/iə̯u̯/	/iː/	/ui̯/	/yi̯/
Near-close	/ʊ/	/ʏ/
Close-mid	/oː/	/øː/	/eːu̯/	/eːi̯/	/oːu̯/	/øːi̯/
Open-mid	/ɔ/	/œ/			/ɔi̯/	/œi̯/
Open	/äː/, /ɑ/	/æˑ/			/ɑi̯/	/æˑi̯/

Determinatives

		Articles									Demonstratives
		definite				indefinite				negative
		nominative		genitive		nominative		genitive
		full	enc.	full	enc.	full	enc.	full	enc.		proximal	distal
sing.	masc.	þe (þ'n)		þes	's	ene(n)	'ne(n)	eens	'ns	geine(n)	þeze(n)	þé(en)
	neut.	het	't			e ('n)				gé(en)	þit	þat (þatte)
	fem.	þe (þ'n)		þer		een	'n	ener		gein	þees	þij(n)
plural						—

• Word-final ⟨n⟩ is added in various forms before ⟨t⟩, ⟨d⟩, ⟨þ⟩, ⟨ð⟩, a vowel or ⟨h⟩.
• Unlike other languages in the Crando-Batavian family, Meckelnish has not undergone /θ/ > /d/ hardening in determinatives.
• The enclitic forms of determinatives are usually used, with full forms in stressed or comparative uses.
• Enclitic determinatives are not capitalized at the start of a sentence, instead the following word is.
• The demonstrative "þatte" is the stressed form used to create a contrast (e.g. "not in that house, in that house").

Pronouns

Personal pronouns

			Subject		Object		Possessive						Reflexive
							masculine		neuter		fem./plur.
			full	enc.	full	enc.	full	enc.	full	enc.	full	enc.
sing.	1st		ijch	'ch	mijch	m'ch	mijne(n)	m'ne(n)	mij(n)	me (m'n)	mijn	m'n	mijch	m'ch
	2nd	fam.	dijch	de	dijch	d'ch	dijne(n)	d'ne(n)	dij(n)	de (d'n)	dijn	d'n	dijch	d'ch
		polite	du	d'r	üüch		öhre(n)		ööhr				üüch
	3rd	masc.	heer	'r	hem	'm	zijne(n)	z'ne(n)	zij(n)	ze (z'n)	zijn	z'n	zijch	z'ch
		neut.	het	't	het	't
		fem.	zij	ze	hühr	'r	höhre(n)	're(n)	hööhr	'r	hööhr	'r
		indef.	me				ege(n)		eeg
plur.	1st		ƀeer	ƀ'r	üs		üze(n)		üüs				üs
	2nd		geer	g'r	üüch		öhre(n)		ööhr				üüch
	3rd		zij	ze	hün		hünne(n)		hün				zijch	z'ch
	epicene		deer
dummy			þa	þ'r	—

• Personal pronouns are rendered in their full form when stressed and their enclitic form when not.
• Word-final ⟨n⟩ is added in possessive forms before ⟨t⟩, ⟨d⟩, ⟨þ⟩, ⟨ð⟩, a vowel or ⟨h⟩.
• "Þa" is a dummy pronoun standing for "existential there," the form of "there" not used in a locative sense (e.g. "there are plants in the city").
• "Het" can also be a dummy pronoun, known as "weather it," where it is a subject without reference to an another noun (e.g. "it is raining").
• "Eeg" serves as an intensifier, meaning "one's own," but by generalization is also the possessive form of the indefinite pronoun "me."
• ⟨deer⟩ took the form ⟨dé⟩ before harmonizing with other forms ⟨heer⟩, ⟨ƀeer⟩ and ⟨geer⟩.
• The dual form of pronouns is archaic though may be retained by minor dialects, but is proscribed in Victoria University Standard.
• The enclitic forms of pronouns are usually used, with full forms in stressed or comparative uses, and often at the start of sentences.
• Enclitic pronouns are still capitalized at the start of a sentence.

Indefinite pronouns

	Human	Place	Object
indefinite	ijmes	ührges	eets
negative	nijmes	njührges	niks
universal	eðereen	üƀeraahl	alles

Interrogative pronouns

	Who	What	Where	When	Why	How	Which
nom./acc.	wé	wat	wu	wan	wuhrüm	hu	welk(e)
genitive	wees		—

• Word-final ⟨e⟩ is added in "welk" (as an adjective is) when the noun referenced is in the masculine, feminine or plural.

Verbs

• When a verb stem ends in ⟨s⟩, then the singular second-person suffix ⟨-s⟩ is omitted.
• When a stem ends in ⟨ch⟩, then a ⟨-t-⟩ is added before a suffix starting with ⟨-e⟩.
• The participles inflect with the suffix ⟨-e⟩ when modifying a noun as an adjective.
• ⟨ge-⟩ is omitted from the past participle when a verb already includes a prefix.
• The supine suffix ⟨-entere⟩ uniquely shifts stress in the verb (/-ənˈtɛɹ̈ə/), while other suffixes are unstressed.
• /d/ and /t/ become /ð/ and /θ/ at the end of a stem non-intervocalically if undergoing umlaut.
• ⟨-n⟩ is added word-final to any form ending in ⟨e⟩ before ⟨t⟩, ⟨d⟩, ⟨þ⟩, ⟨ð⟩, a vowel or ⟨h⟩.
• Umlauting verbs have a root stem with a back or central vowel or diphthong (e.g. ⟨a⟩, ⟨au⟩, ⟨oo⟩).
• Umlautless verbs do not have a back or central vowel or diphthong in their root stem (e.g. ⟨ä⟩, ⟨ei⟩, ⟨ö⟩).
• Many Crando-Batavian languages lost stem-final dental consonants, but Meckelnish keeps them (e.g. ⟨heiðs⟩).
• Where palatalization occurs by inflection, the final verb form modifies accordingly.

Weak verbs

Umlautless weak verbs

infinitive		-e
supine		-enterre
		I	IIa	IIb	I	IIa	IIb	I	IIa	IIb
		present			preterite/subj.			imperative
sing.	1st	-∅			-de			-∅
	2nd	-s			-des
	3rd	-∅	-t	-p, t, k	-de
plur.	1st	-e			-de			-∅	-t	-p, t, k
	2nd	-∅	-t	-p, t, k	-det
	3rd	-e			-de
		present			past
participle		-end			ge-	ge-, -d	ge-, -p, t, k

Umlaut-having weak verbs

infinitive		-e
supine		-enterre
		III	IV	pret.	subj.	III	IV
		present				imp.
sing.	1st	-∅		-de	um.-de	-∅
	2nd	um.-s		-des	um.-des
	3rd	um.	um. -p, t, k	-de	um.-de
plur.	1st	-e		-de	um.-de	um.	-p, t, k
	2nd	um.	-p, t, k	-det	um.-det
	3rd	-e		-de	um.-de
		present		past
participle		-end		ge-, -e

Reverse-umlaut weak verbs

infinitive		um.-nge, -nke
supine		um.-ngenterre, -nkenterre
		present	pret./subj.	imp.
sing.	1st	um.-ng, -nk	-ch	um.-ng, -nk
	2nd	um.-ngs, -nks	-chs
	3rd	um.-ngk, -nk	-ch
plur.	1st	um.-nge, -nke	-chte	um.-ngk, -nk
	2nd	um.-ngk, -nk	-ch
	3rd	um.-nge, -nke	-chte
		present	past
participle		um.-ngend, -nkend	ge-, -ch

Categorization of weak verbs by class

		Vowel	T-del.	Terminal consonant
Class I		no umlaut	yes	plosives, fricatives, affricates
Class II	(a)		no	approximants ⟨j⟩, ⟨l⟩, ⟨r⟩, ⟨w⟩
	(b)			nasals ⟨m⟩, ⟨n⟩, ⟨ng⟩
Class III		umlauting	yes	plosives, fricatives, affricates
Class IV			no	nasals, approximants
Class V		reverse umlauting	yes	some ⟨n⟩ followed by velar plosive ⟨ng⟩, ⟨nk⟩

• As umlauting verbs, Class III and IV verbs umlaut their core vowel sounds (e.g. /CoːC/ > /CøːCs/) (see table).
• Class I and III verbs have undergone T-deletion and lost their ⟨-t⟩ and ⟨-d⟩ suffixes in all forms.
• Stems ending in nasal consonants (⟨m⟩, ⟨n⟩, ⟨ng⟩) suffix their respective voiceless plosive ⟨-p⟩, ⟨-t⟩ and ⟨-k⟩.
• Class IV verbs use ⟨-t⟩ as a suffix for all consonants except the nasals, as explained.
• Reverse-umlauting verbs have infinitive roots that are umlauted from their past-tense root form.
• Class V verbs have core roots that end in ⟨-ch⟩ in their past tense but either ⟨-ng⟩ or ⟨-nk⟩ in their present.

Strong verbs

Strong verb conjugation pattern

infinitive		(1)-e
supine		(1)-enterre
		T-del.	no del.	pret.	subj.	T-del.	no del.
		present				imp.
sing.	1st	(1)		(3)	(3 um.)	(1)
	2nd	(2)-s		(3)-s	(3 um.)-s
	3rd	(2)	(2)-t, p, k	(3)	(3 um.)
plur.	1st	(1)-e		(3)-e	(3 um.)-e	(1)	(1)-t, p, k
	2nd	(1)	(1)-t, p, k	(3)	(3 um.)
	3rd	(1)-e		(3)-e	(3 um.)-e
		present		past
participle		(1)-end		ge-(4)-e

Preterite-present conjugation pattern

infinitive		stem-e
supine		stem-enterre
		T-del.	no del.	pret./subj. formulation			T-del.	no del.
		present		onset	pret.	subj.	imp.
sing.	1st	stem		first letter of the stem-	-os	-üsch	stem
	2nd	stem-s			-os	-üsch
	3rd	stem	stem -t, p, k		-os	-üsch
plur.	1st	stem-e			-oste	-üscte	stem	stem -t, p, k
	2nd	stem	stem -t, p, k		-os	-üsch
	3rd	stem-e			-oste	-üscte
		present		past
participle		stem-end		ge-stem-e

Categorization of strong verbs by class

		Grade 1	Grade 3	Grade 4
Class I		ij	ee
Class II	(a)	ee	oo
	(b)	üü
Class III	(a)	i	oo
	(b)	ä	o
Class IV	(a)	ee	aa	oo
	(b)		oo
Class V		ee	aa	ee
Class VI		aa	oo	aa
Class VII		*V	ee	*V
Pret.-Pres.		*V	o	*V

• Strong verbs have four stem grades: root (1), third-person singular (2), preterite (3) and past participle (4).
• If a Grade 3 stem (preterite) in a strong verb can umlaut, the Grade 3 stem umlauts in the subjunctive.
• Umlauts conjugate only when creating subjunctives with Grade 3—some Grade 2 stems derive by umlaut.
• Grade 2 stems are highly irregular, depend on the phonotactic context, and do not define the verb classes.
• Verbs that have undergone T-deletion lose their ⟨-t⟩ suffix in all forms.
• T-retaining verbs end in approximants (⟨j⟩, ⟨l⟩, ⟨r⟩, ⟨w⟩) and nasals (⟨m⟩, ⟨n⟩, ⟨ng⟩).
• Stems ending in nasal consonants (⟨m⟩, ⟨n⟩, ⟨ng⟩) suffix their respective voiceless plosive ⟨-p⟩, ⟨-t⟩ and ⟨-k⟩.
• T-retaining verbs use ⟨-t⟩ as a suffix for all consonants except the nasals, as explained.
• Preterite-present verbs act like strong verbs but change their entire roots in the preterite, except the first letter.
• Class VII and preterite-present verbs are marked with "*V", indicating any variable verb.
• Verb classes come from Proto-Crando-Batavian and do not necessarily "group logically," such as Class IIIb.

Irregular verbs

"to be"

infinitive		zeen
supine		zeenterre
auxiliary		zeen
		pres.	pret.	subj.	imp.
sing.	1st	bin	woor	weer	bis
	2nd	bis	woors	weers
	3rd	is	woor	weer
plur.	1st	zeen	wore	were	zeet
	2nd	zeet	woort	weert
	3rd	zeen	wore	were
		pres.	pret.
participle		zeend	gewees

"to have"

infinitive		hübbe
supine		hübbenterre
auxiliary		hübbe
		pres.	pret.	subj.	imp.
sing.	1st	hüb	had	heið	hüb
	2nd	hübs	hads	heiðs
	3rd	heet	had	heið
plur.	1st	hübbe	hadde	heiðe
	2nd	hüb	had	heit
	3rd	hübbe	hadde	heiðe
		pres.	pret.
participle		hübbend	gehad

• Meckelnish has few irregular verbs—most verbs have become more regular (i.e. fewer strong verb ablauts).
• "Zeen" ("to be") is irregular from two verb stems, "zeen" in the present and "woor" in the preterite.
• "Zeen" is the only verb to merge ⟨-e*⟩ suffixes to the stem (e.g. /ze.ənˈtɛɹ̈ə/ > /zeːnˈtɛɹ̈ə/).
• The single-syllable fused verbs arise from strong verbs that lost an inter-syllabic ⟨h⟩ in their stem.

Nouns

Morphology

	Singular		Plural
	nom.	gen.	nom.	gen.
Feminine	stem	-e	-e
Masculine		-s
Neuter			-er
Umlauting		um.-e(s)	um.	um.-e
⟨-s⟩ nouns		-(e)s	-(e)s	-(n)e

• All nouns that can umlaut do so in the diminutive, not all do in the plural.
• Masculine and neuter nouns that follow umlauting have genitive ⟨-es⟩.
• /d/ and /t/ become /ð/ at the end of a stem non-intervocalically if umlauting.
• Some irregular nouns have no plural, but follow genitive and diminutive forms.
• There are multiple realizations of ⟨-ke⟩ depending on the preceding sound.
• ⟨-s⟩ nouns are a wide group commonly ending in unstressed ⟨e⟩ (e.g. ⟨er⟩, ⟨el⟩).
• ⟨-s⟩ nouns also include those ending in a vowel, ⟨ein⟩ and ⟨ien⟩.
• Nouns ending in a long vowel before a consonant are ⟨-s⟩ nouns using ⟨-es⟩.
• Plural genitive nouns ending in a vowel have ⟨-ne⟩
• ⟨-eC⟩ suffixes become ⟨-teC⟩ after ⟨-ch⟩.
• Nouns ending in ⟨s⟩ followed by an ⟨-s⟩ suffix are unmodified.

Adjectives

			comp	super
			-er	-ste

Adverbs

Locative adverbs

	Proximal	Distal
static	hei	þa
direct.	hot	haar
relative	wu