View source for Adcovtle

'''Adcovtle''' (Adcovtle: ''adcovtle'') is a [[lograði language]] spoken primarily in [[Covtle]]. The only lograði language in eastern [[Tiðloten]], it originates from the [[Exile of Baðatrepava|exiled followers of Baðatrepava]] who settled in Covtle 450. Adcovtle is the official language of the [[Wiþi Empire]], and the official language of [[Covtle]].

== Classification ==
Adcovtle is considered to be a lograði language, despite its influence from [[Grèstilsan languages]] and the [[original languages of Covtle]].

== History ==
Adcovtle began to develop separately from [[Avamants Logetavys]], the language of [[the Ancient Land]] which it descends from, almost as soon as [[Baðatrepava]] and his followers left the Ancient Land. Analysis of written documentation is difficult using [[Ancient Land Logograms]], but the development of the alphabet in the 300s allows for more phonetic analysis. After the [[fall of Lajavlugli]], Adcovtle began to change more rapidly. Some of the most notable changes during this period were the disappearance of the gender system, and the [[Covtle vowel shift]].

Old Adcovtle marks the period from roughly 800 to 1200, including [[tedadera ad lapegar]] (English: Years of Peace). Spelling became standardised around this time, and remained so until the updates made by [[Lañome ad lini]]. During this period, Adcovtle also lost its final case marker.

The Teslator era, in roughly the 1600s, marked the loss of the infinitive t- prefix.

== Distribution of speakers ==
Adcovtle is spoken as a first language by roughly 88 percent of the population of Covtle as a first language, and by roughly 12 percent of the population of Covtle as a second language. It is also spoken as a first language by 60 percent of the population of Onþod.

Adcovtle is also spoken as a second language throughout the Wiþi Empire, and in Wàmèrà and Quərfi.

== Phonology ==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
|+ Consonant phonemes
! colspan="2" | !! colspan="2" | Bilabial !! colspan="2" | Labiodental !! colspan="2" | Dental !! colspan="2" | Alveolar !! colspan="2" | Palatal !! colspan="2" | Velar
|-
! colspan="2" | Nasal
| style="border-right: 0;" | || style="border-left: 0;" | m
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
| style="border-right: 0;" | || style="border-left: 0;" | n
| style="border-right: 0;" | || style="border-left: 0;" | ɲ
| style="border-right: 0;" | || style="border-left: 0;" | ŋ
|-
! colspan="2" | Plosive
| style="border-right: 0;" | p || style="border-left: 0;" | b
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
| style="border-right: 0;" | t || style="border-left: 0;" | d
| style="border-right: 0;" | || style="border-left: 0;" |
| style="border-right: 0;" | k || style="border-left: 0;" | g
|-
! colspan="2" | Fricative
| colspan="2" |
| style="border-right: 0;" | f || style="border-left: 0;" | v
| style="border-right: 0;" | θ || style="border-left: 0;" | ð
| style="border-right: 0;" | s || style="border-left: 0;" | z
| style="border-right: 0;" | || style="border-left: 0;" |
| style="border-right: 0;" | x || style="border-left: 0;" |
|-
! rowspan="2" | Approximant
! <small>Central</small>
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
| style="border-right: 0;" | || style="border-left: 0;" | 
| style="border-right: 0;" | || style="border-left: 0;" | j
| style="border-right: 0;" | ʍ || style="border-left: 0;" | w
|-
! <small>Lateral</small>
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
| style="border-right: 0;" | || style="border-left: 0;" | l
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
|-
|}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
|+ Vowel phonemes
|-
!
! Front
! Mid
! Back
|-
! High
| i     
|     
| u
|-
! Mid 
| e     
|     
| o
|-
! Low  
|
|  a
|}

Adcovtle phonotactics follow the sonority hierarchy, while allowing a large number of consonant clusters. Stress in Adcovtle is lexical, but defaults on most words to the first syllable. Adcovtle is a syllable-timed language.

== Grammar ==
=== Basic word order ===
Adcovtle syntax is marked by a strong SVO (subject-verb-object) word order. Since Adcovtle does not have any case markings, word order can change the meaning of a sentence. For example:
{| style="text-align: center;"
| '''La-''' || '''zeþlada''' || '''b-''' || '''eclet''' || '''la-''' || '''plusamben'''
|-
| ''COUNTABLE'' || ''person'' || ''PRES'' || ''step.on'' || ''COUNTABLE'' || ''lightning.skink''
|}
"The person steps on a lightning skink."

is different from

{| style="text-align: center;"
| '''La-''' || '''plusamben''' || '''b-''' || '''eclet''' || '''la-''' || '''zeþlada'''
|-
| ''COUNTABLE'' || ''lightning.skink'' || ''PRES'' || ''step.on'' || ''COUNTABLE'' || ''person''
|}
"The lightning skink steps on a person."

Adcovtle is an head-initial language. Adjectives follow nouns, adverbs follow verbs, and prepositional phrases follow nouns and verbs.

=== Nouns ===
Nouns in Adcovtle are inflicted only for countability. This infliction is done with a prefix.

la-: countable
te-: uncountable

Countability in Adcovtle is not the same as plurality. For example:

{| style="text-align: center;"
| '''la-''' || '''plusamben'''
|-
| ''COUNTABLE'' || ''lightning.skink''
|}
"One lightning skink"

{| style="text-align: center;"
| '''te-''' || '''plusamben'''
|-
| ''UNCOUNTABLE'' || ''lightning.skink''
|}
"Many lightning skinks"

{| style="text-align: center;"
| '''Do''' || '''La-''' || '''plusamben'''
|-
| Two  || ''COUNTABLE'' || ''lightning.skink''
|}
"Two lightning skinks"

=== Verbs ===
Verbs in adcovtle are conjugated for tense and aspect. The verb prefixes are given below:

{| style="text-align: center;"
| ð- || future absolute
|-
| b- || present absolute
|-
| d- || past absolute
|-
| ðoz- || future relative
|-
| ps- || present relative
|-
| doh- || past relative
|}

There are two common classes of irregular verbs, þepete verbs and consonant verbs. þepete verbs have a voiceless stop as the first consonant in the stem, and are conjugated with «þ-», «p-», and «t-» in the absolute. Consonant verbs begin with a consonant, and have the vowel from the end moved to the beginning when conjugated.

=== Pronouns ===
Unlike nouns, pronouns mark plurality. The pronouns in Adcovtle are:
{| class="wikitable"
!
!Singular
!Plural
|-
!1st person
|ma
|ri
|-
!2nd person
|va
|atle
|-
!3rd person
|ðo
|co
|}

=== Plavestafras ===
The «plavestafras» is a special kind of particle in Adcovtle that is inserted at the beginning of a sentence. They can be used to form questions, negations, conditionals, and change the mood of a sentence. The plavestafras are the following:

{| class="wikitable"
!plavestafras || meaning
|-
| are || active (optional), imperative (mandatory)
|-
| po || passive (optional)
|-
| so || question
|-
| na || negation
|-
| iz || conditional, causal (in past)
|-
| þi || subjunctive
|}

== See also ==
[https://10.0.0.6:4443/adcovtle-learning-app/index.html Adcovtle learning app] - an online app for learning Adcovtle. Also has the most up-to-date dictionary.

=== Older resources (have been moved) ===
[https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dpFOvmqX_p5qLMf5_Prl0VvYmUja_KrE0D1uDRyVW_M/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.fu2gqkgte3np An introduction to Adcovtle] - Introductory Adcovtle textbook

[https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1uQQ9Ej07BOSw2R3Nx6aM2LtS7q5zcbSiWvtmDjaQLHs/edit?gid=0#gid=0 Tiðloten dictionary] - Online dictionary for Adcovtle and other languages of Tiðloten

[https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-2FDYqYExOIjEN3ZNGNRCuLAoEPyGXrRdTCZtaC_dU4/edit?gid=0#gid=0 Adcovtle sound changes] - Documentation of the sound changes in the history of Adcovtle

[[Category:Languages of Tiðloten]]
[[Category:Lograði languages]]