Bredish

The Bredish language (Bredish: Brediẍ Tal or Bredisgch Tal) is a language spoken in Clymene. Bredish is a Germanic language, related to English. It is heavily influenced by Dutch, and to a lesser extent Chinese, German and Gaelic.

Bredish has an official status in Lovia, but is only spoken in Clymene. Its use is wide-spread in the state. It is spoken in Sofasi, Plains and most of the residential parts of Adoha.

The language originated in the 19th century, when Chinese guest workers came to Clymene and mixed with the predominantly English-speaking population. A creole of English and Chinese came into existence. This form of communication was consolidated in Clymenish everyday life and became the lingua france of the state.

The state became a ethnic melting pot after the arrival of Dutch and German immigrants. A mix of German, Dutch and English dialects was spoken by these new colonists. Over the course of the years these languages integrated and borrowed from each other, becoming a distinct way of communication used only by inhabitants of Lovia. This sociolect was fueled by the Chinese presence in Clymene. This new linguistic layer covered the old Chinese-English creole, and became the accepted language of the state. Over time, a new language was born.

History
In the late 19th century, thousands of Chinese guest workers immigrated to Clymene in search of work. The existing, predominantly English-speaking population developed a pidgin language to communicate with their new neighbors. This language was not used in formal settings however, and was only used when a native speaker of English encountered a native speaker of Mandarin Chinese.

Later on, Mandarin Chinese and English culture began to merge in Clymene. The two cultures influenced each other heavily, and speakers of both languages borrowed heavily from each others vocabularies. This substrate of English with Mandarin Chinese influences became the accepted way of communication.

Around 1895, Dutch, German, Scottish and Swedish immigrants began to arrive in Lovia in large numbers. Many Dutch, German and Gaelic speaking Scottish immigrants settled in Clymene during the gold rush, and they adopted the existing framework of language developed by the original Chinese and English immigrants. This hybrid of Germanic languages influenced by Mandarin Chinese and Gaelic became increasingly popular, as many people intermarried and public announcements and official documents often used many loan words. Because many non-English immigrants were not very proficient in English, but still held high positions in the local government or operated important businesses, a "broken" form of English became an increasingly prevalent way of communication.

The cross-fertilization of these languages led to a situation where many people spoke a mixture of Dutch and English, with a borrowed English grammar and lots of culuturally dependent loan words. This "Britishe Taal" was condoned by the local government from 1901 onwards, to promote unity and a sense of autonomy. The Britishe Taal Commision, now the Brediẍ Talcommision, was founded in 1902 by Pieter Meertens. It occupied itself with standardizing and promoting the increasingly popular Bredish language.

The ortography of the language was standardized in the late 1930s and in 1945 the "ẍ" was introduced. Unlike Oceana, Bredish didn't suffer a decrease in speakers. The language is spoken by 24,000-27,000 people as first language nowadays, of which approximately 17,000 live in Clymene. A significant Bredish minority lives in Noble City.

Grammar
Bredish grammar is very similar to English grammar in terms of sentence structure and idioms. Unlike English, Bredish verbs (and to a limited extent nouns) are declinated, using a system partly borrowed from German and Dutch.

Nouns
Bredish nouns are classified in two groups: male/female and neuter. A couple of modifying particles are used to indicate that a noun has a certain quality. The suffix -ie is used as a diminutive (sth is small). The prefix mòr- is used as an augmentative (sth is big). There are four articles: two definite and two indefinite ones.

Prepositions are merged with articles in a few special cases:
 * de (to the)
 * inne (in the)
 * ute (out of the)

Ortography
Bredish is written using the Latin script. Occassionally, some Chinese characters are used on shop signs or in unofficial publications. All letters of the standard alphabet are used, although some -like the "k"- are only used sparsely.

Due to the multitude of languages that influenced Bredish in some way, the ortography is not consistent and somewhat chaotic. Because the base ortography of English is already very flawed, Bredish ortography is characterized by exceptions and inconstistencies.

The voiceless uvular fricative is officially represented by a "x", but more commonly written like "gch". When preceded by a "s", a different rule applies:

The diaresis is used to indicate that some vowels and the consonant "x" are pronounced differently. The unique consonant "ẍ" was introduced in 1945, to represent the double consonant consisting of a voiceless alveolar sibilant (the s in English sea) and a voiceless uvular fricative (pronounced like ch in Scottish "loch"). Previously, the way this sound was written down was not properly defined. A couple of different ways existed to write down this sound, such as "sg", "sgch", "sḡ" and "sg'". Sometimes, when a "ẍ" is not available, the voiceless uvular fricative sound may be represented by a "sgch". The diaresis is also used on certain vowels (ä, ü, ö), usually in words borrowed from German (or Dutch, in rare cases). This may be substituted by adding an "e". Words of Gaelic origin sometimes exhibit the use of a grave accent (à, è, ì, ò, ù), but this diacritic mark can be replaced by adding an "o" after the vowel in question.

A macron below is used to indicate that a consonant is pronounced "softly". However, this may be substituted by adding a "h" after the consonant. Examples include "ḇ" (Gaelic "bh") and ṯ (English "th" in "the"). A macron above a vowel indicates that the vowel is pronounced in a short way. This is only used, however, when the prononcation of a word may not be clear.

Because the use of diacritic marks is not mandatory, Bredish can be written with or without diacritic marks, and the writer can choose to omit certain diacritic marks, like the accent grave or the macron. Words can therefore be written in two ways:


 * Ṯi ẍin de österic


 * Thi sgchin de oesteric

The simpler, non-diacritical writing system is the most prevalent, but most official documents and many formal texts are written using the diacritical system. This is also the system taught in schools.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Simple Bredish spelling:
 * Alle man sin boaren vry an elyk in digniti-aguz-regchts. Thi sin endout mee re-en an it ewetin, so thi wilt in brueder-gcheest sin mee elkander.

Diacritical Bredish spelling:
 * Alle man sin boaren vry an elyk in digniti-aguz-rexts. Ṯi sin endout mee re-en an it ewetin, so ṯi wilt in brüder-xeest sin mee elkander.

English translation:
 * All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.