Verse:Irta/Judeo-Mandarin

Verse:Irta/Judeo-Mandarin/Wordlist

Ăn Yidiș/Ăn Yidiș

Ăn Yidiș/Proto-Ăn Yidiș

Ăn Yidiș or Judeo-Gaelic, natively אן ייִדיִש ăn Yidiș /ən 'jidiʃ/ (from yid- 'Jew' + -iș, cognate to Irish -(a)is), א קֿעלק'א אַק נאה ייִדיִ ă Ghelģă ag nă Yidi /ə ɣeldʒə ag nə 'jidi/ 'the native language of the Jews' or א מֿאם-לשון ă mham-loșăn; in in-universe Hebrew קלית qėliþ/gelis or יידיש yidiš, is the sole surviving Goidelic language in Verse:Apple PIE. It evolved from a Middle Irish dialect that migrated to Brittany; Goidelic died out in the British Isles and was replaced by Hivatish varieties. Ăn Yidiș is a possible answer to "What if Yiddish were Goidelic?" and is called "Yiddish" in in-universe English.

With over 9 million speakers, Ăn Yidiș is the main vernacular of most major Jewish communities in Europe, the British Isles, Canada and Australia, in-universe called "Gaelic Jews" (năh Yidi Geli) or "Ashkenazi Jews" (năh Așcănazi). On top of the inherited Gaelic vocabulary, it mainly borrows words from Hebrew and Talmudic Aramaic, but also from Greek, Persian, Azalic, Galoyseg and Nithish. It is the Jewish language with the largest number of speakers in Apple PIE. Among Judeo-Gaelic speakers, Hebrew (read with the Gaelic Hebrew pronunciation) and English are common second languages.

Its aesthetic is "Scottish Gaelic but more Romanian and Windermere."

Todo

How to say "daloy"

Fix (later) Hebrew loans

ü from Old Irish ú and other sources

Sound law: ŗeł > ŗoł

ק ט used for native g d

Semantic drifts

To ănd iesg byu ă snov înș ănd îșģă = The living fish swims in the water

-amh/-ún nouns drop the -amh; plural -ță (tał, talță 'earth')

History

Main article: Ăn Yidiș/Proto-Ăn Yidiș

Main article: Ăn Yidiș/Literature

Names

Nicknames may be formed with the diminutive -in or the double diminutive -(i)non. For example, Yacăv 'Jacob' may become Yancin, Yałcin or Yacin or Yacnon.

Given names (non-Hebrew)

Male

• ארתּ, ארתּין Art, Artin 'bear', Dovart
• שינאך Șînăch: 'fox' (also a surname)

Vestigial genitive forms of names are still found in surnames, e.g. מאכּ שיני mac Șîni

Female

• כּלין Calin (Colleen) 'little bride'?

Unisex

• אשלין Așlin (Ashlin, Ashleen): 'vision, calling'

Surnames

Patronymics:

• Gaelic: מאַכּ/ניכּ חיים mac (m)/nic (f) Chaim; a wife of a mac Chaim takes the surname מען מאַק חיים men mac Chaim.
  • Oh (m) and Ni +lenition (f) are not productive; typically names of pre-Ăn Yidiș Gaelic clans such as Oh Coiv (~ Ó Caoimh)
• Semitic: בּן/בּר/בּת חיים, חיימי ben (m)/bar (m)/bas (f) Chaim, Chaimi
• Azalic: חיימסאָן Chaimson, Chaimdotăr

Famous people

• סקאָט מאַק אהרון Scott McAharon (Scot mac Ahárăn) - quantum physicist and computer scientist

Phonology of IFDY Ăn Yidiș

The following describes the (somewhat artificial) standard, often called ăn Cîzon, promoted by the Research Institute for Ăn Yidiș (אנט איִנסטיִתּוֹט ףיסיִףטאך טען ייִדיִש ănd Insditud Fîsifdăch den Yidiș; abbreviated to איִףטיִ/IFDY /ifti/).

• Consonants: b c ch c̦ d f g gh ģ h l ł m n p r ŗ s ș t th ț v y z ' /b k χ tʃ d f g ɣ dʒ h l w m n p r ʒ s ʃ h ts~tɕ v j z (?)/
  • Final h is silent unless before a vowel. th is pronounced even when final.
  • ŗ is /ʃ/ after voiceless consonants: סקר'יב scŗiv /skʃiv/ 'to write'.
  • Stop + fricative clusters are distinct from affricates: some minimal pairs are דר'עבאר dŗevăr 'sister' and ג'עבאר ģevăr 'winter'; תּר'יִ tŗi '3' and צ'יִ c̦i 'hunting hound; attack dog' (a loan from another Celtic language).
  • Voiceless stops (written פּ כּ תּ) are aspirated unless after a fricative, where they are written בּ ק ט. In Hebrew and Aramaic loans, this aspiration may be retained even after fricatives in careful speech.
  • t d n are dental and may be slightly velarized. In some dialects t may be a fricative /θ/.
• ț z c̦ ģ l ŗ arise from Old Irish slender t d c g l r. ł arises from Old Irish non-slender l. The Hebrew-script orthography points to the fact that /ʒ/ and /w/ were pronounced as Czech ř and dark l, respectively, when the IFDY spelling was first standardized.
• The glottal stop is used in Hebrew and Aramaic loans (where it repressnts syllable-initial aleph and ayin) by careful speakers.
• Lenitions:
  • b /b/ > bh /v/
  • d /d/ > dh /ɣ/
  • f /f/ > fh /0/
  • g /g/ > gh /ɣ/
  • c /k/ > ch /χ/
  • c̦ /tʃ/ > c̦h /ʃ/
  • m /m/ > mh /v/
  • p /p/ > ph /f/
  • s /s/ > sh /h/
  • t /t/ > th /h/
  • ț /ts/ > țh /h/
  • ģ /dʒ/ > ģh /j/
• Vowels: a e i o u ü ey ea oa ie ua üe ă î /a ɛ ɪ ɔ ʊ y əi eə oə iə uə yə ə ɨ/, vowel reduction to /ə/ common.
• Stress is transcribed if not initial
• OIr oí > ey
• short i > y (some other sources pls)
• short o > ă

Intonation

Mostly syllable-timed; Stressed syllables rise in pitch; the syllable immediately after the stress starts higher than the stressed syllable, and the prosodic unit falls in pitch afterwards. Questions do not differ from declaratives in intonation.

Miscellaneous

• ə V > V: (cf. Israeli Hebrew)
  • א מ°שפּחה אַקוֹם ă mhișpóhă agum 'my family' > ă mhișpóha:gum

Dialects

The inherited Gaelic vocabulary of Ăn Yidiș has historically been extremely dialectally uniform, because Ăn Yidiș arose from a founder event and spread rapidly over a wide area. Historically, Ăn Yidiș dialects mainly differed in accent, syntax and function words, and some vocabulary (what Semitic and other loanwords are used and how they are pronounced). Nowadays, secular vs Haredi is the main dialectal division in Ăn Yidiș, and this division is widening. Modern dialects differ secondarily by the individual Jewish enclave, esp. in the case of Haredi Ăn Yidiș.

Ăn Cîzon is based phonologically on phonologically conservative Western European dialects and grammatically on the old Hasidic dialect which was spoken in our Czechia.

Modern Secular Ăn Yidiș

Close to Ăn Cîzon, but r is an alveolar approximant and there's Swedish-style retroflexion.

Modern Hasidic Ăn Yidiș

• NZ-ish chain vowel shift:
  1. /ɨ/~/i/ > /ə/ > /a/ > /e/ > /ei/ > /ai/
  2. ie, üe, ua > /i y u/; ea, oa > /iə uə/
• r is uvular

Mutations and gender have been lost.

Ăn Nidiș-Yidiș (Baltic Ăn Yidiș)

A (historically non-Hasidic) Haredi dialect spoken in the Baltic; influenced by Nithish. Kinda Our-Yiddish gibby

• /ə/-/o/ merger
  • /əm ən əl ər/ > syllabic /m l n r/; the definite article is always pronounced /n/
• /eə oə/ are [e: o:]
• t may be a fricative /θ/.
• ł and l merge into dark L
• /ft/ > /xt/

Orthography

Ăn Yidiș is written in an adapted Hebrew alphabet.

Consonants

Assume no initial lenition. The consonants are spelled as follows in non-Hebrew, non-Aramaic words:

א בּ ב גּ ג ג' ד ה הּ ז ט י(י) כ ל ל' מ נ ס פּ ף צ צ' ק ר ר' ש תּ = zero b v g gh d h th z y c l ł m n s p f ț c̦ r ŗ ș t /0 b v k ɣ t t dʒ h h t z j kh l w m n s ph f ts tʃ k r ʒ ʃ th/.

ק and ט in Hebrew and Aramaic loans (when not lenited) are unaspirated /k/ and /t/. ק ט represent /kh th/ in some exceptional words: קינה cină '(to) lament, to keen' (cognate to Irish caoineadh but spelled as the Hebrew word with the same meaning; the expected Hebrew reading would be gină)

Rafe is used for initial lenition: בֿ גֿ גֿ' דֿ זֿ טֿ כֿ מֿ סֿ פֿ ףֿ צֿ צֿ' קֿ תֿ for bh gh jh dh dzh th ch mh sh ph fh țh c̦h ch th /v ɣ j ɣ j h x v h f 0 h ʃ x h/

/j/ between two vowels is written יי.

ŗ is pronounced /ʃ/ after voiceless fricatives and aspirated stops: כּריי e.g. cŗey /kʃej/ 'earth, soil'.

Vowels

Vowels are spelled as follows (in non-Hebrew, non-Aramaic words):

אַ אְ ע עא יי יִ י יא אָ אָע אוֹ אוֹא אוּ /a ə e eə əi i ɨ iə ɔ oə u uə y/

יִ is used for /i/ after י /j/.

Hebrew words are spelled similarly to (Modern) Hebrew, with the following rules:

• "Gomăț godon" /o/ does not use vav as a mater lectionis.
• A dagesh on bet, gimel, kaf, pe, or tav is always written when present. Note that ת = /s/ in Hebrew and Aramaic loans.

The hyphen used looks like this: מא־מֿאַדרא mă-mhadră 'my dog'.

Other notes

By folk etymology, many native words which are coincidentally similar to Hebrew words are spelled as if they were derived from Hebrew:

• כּלה'ק calăg (f) 'girl' "←" כּלה cală (f) 'bride' + -ăg diminutive suffix
• אַף-אַך af-ach 'however' "←" אַף af 'even' + אַך ach 'but'

Most Hebrew and Aramaic loans are stressed on the second-to-last syllable, like Hebrew loans in Yiddish, but some common Hebrew and Aramaic loans are stressed on the initial or the third-from-last syllable instead. What loans this happens to depends on dialect.

Punctuations

Like Japanese, Ăn Yidiș does not usually use question marks; they're unnecessary because of question particles (they're still used in transliteration).

Grammar

Verbs

Only the verbal noun, the passive participle, and the imperative survive in most contexts. The imperative is on the way out in modern Ăn Yidiș.

תּאָ מ' א ל'אַסוֹ נרות חנוּכּה.

To m' ă łasu nearăs hanîcă.

/tom ə 'wasəɣ 'neirəs 'hanykə/

be.PRES 1SG PRES to_light.VN candle-PL Hanukkah

I'm lighting Hanukkah candles. (or I light Hanukkah candles)

The passive participle has a suffix -ță or -tă/-dă:

תּאָ נאה נרות ל'אַסטא אניש.

To năh nearăs łasdă ănîș.

The candles are now lighted.

Tenses

The tenses are (pres, past/conditional, fut) x (imperfective, perfective). The auxiliary controls the tense and the preposition controls the aspect:

• to ș' ă(g) = present
• to șe ney = past perfective
• vă ș' ă(g) = past imperfective
• vă șe ney = pluperfect
• bei ș' ă(g) = future imperfective
• bei șe ney = future perfective
• rev ș' ă(g) = jussive impfv. ('may he.../let him...')
• rev șe ney = jussive pfv.
• (bi) ă(g) = imperative impfv.
• (bi) ney = imperative pfv.

• to șe ag yth = he eats; he is eating (impers. tor ag îth)
  • vîl șe... = does he...? (impers. vîltăr ag îth)
  • chal șe... = he does not... (impers. chaltăr...)
  • nachîl șe... = doesn't he...?/that he does not (impers. nachîltăr)
  • gu vîl șe... = COMP he...
  • ă to șe... = REL he...
• to șe nej yth = he ate/has eaten
• bey șe ag yth = he will eat (impers. beyfăr)
  • ă bey șe... = will he...?
  • cha bhey șe... = he will not... (impers. cha bheyfăr)
  • nach bhey șe... = won't he...?
  • ă vi șe... = REL he will...
• vă șe ag yth = he was eating/he would eat (impers. vihăs)
  • rev șe... = was he...?/would he? (Impers. refs)
  • cha rev șe... = he was not.../he would not...
  • nach rev șe... = was he not...?/would he not...?
• îth! = Eat! (2sg)
• îthü! = Eat! (2pl) (from a dialectal reflex of *ithebh)
• noh îth(ü)! = Don't eat!

For stative verbs in imperfective tenses, î mă-, î dă-, înă-, etc. + VN is used:

• to m' î mă-chadăl = I sleep
• to m' î mă-thi = I sit
• to m' î mă-șesăv = I stand
• to m' î mă-li = I lie (somewhere)
• to m' î mă-fhiŗăch = I live (I dwell)

Copula

Due to Hebrew influence, Ăn Yidiș is closer to being zero-copula than Irish is; the copula *iš was fused, dropped or reanalyzed as part of the pronoun in some cases. Like in Irish, the semantics is a relatively permanent "X is Y" relation.

e.g. מיִשא ה', טא ז°-א Mișă HaȘeam, dă Zh-e. 'I am Hashem, your G-d.'

Inflection

The following forms are used when the predicate is definite. The interrogative forms below also serve as tag questions for copular sentences:

ףיאך ע, נאַך ע.

Fiech e, nach e?
/fiəχ ɛ, naχ ɛ/
fiech e nach e
raven 3SG.M, NEG.Q 3SG.M
It's a raven, isn't it?

(3)

• nonpast affirmative: mișă tüsă șe și șînyă șîvșă șîd
  • also used for "yes" (for a copula sentence)
• nonpast interrogative: ăn + mișă tüsă e i înyă îvșă îd
• nonpast negative: chamșă, chatsă, chan e, chan i, chanyă, chavșă, chan îd
  • also used for "no" (for a copula sentence)
• nonpast neg. interrogative: nach + mișă tüsă e i înyă îvșă îd
• past affirmative: vișă, va thüsă, ve, vi, vînyă, vîvșă, vîd
  • also used for "yes" (for a copula sentence)
• past interrogative: ăr + mhișă, thüsă, ve, vi, înyă, îvșă, vîd
• past negative: char + mhișă, thüsă, ve, vi, înyă, îvșă, vîd
  • also used for "no" (for a copula sentence)
• past neg. interrogative: nachăr + mhișă, thüsă, ve, vi, înyă, îvșă, vîd

When the predicate is indefinite, the following constructions are used and are treated as indivisible units:

• nonpast aff.: PRED disj.PRON
  • Irish speakers: note the lack of *iš.
• nonpast aff?: ă PRED disj.PRON?
• nonpast neg: cha(n)° PRED disj.PRON
• nonpast neg?: nach PRED disj.PRON?
• past aff.: vă° PRED disj.PRON
• past aff?: ăr° PRED disj.PRON?
• past neg: char° PRED disj.PRON
• past neg?: nachăr° PRED disj.PRON?

Nouns

Like Irish and Hebrew, An Yidiș has masculine and feminine genders. Hebrew words (usually) have the same gender as in Hebrew. There is no grammatical case.

Native plurals are more regular, marked with mostly -ăn, or less commonly

• umlaut, final palatalization: fer > fiŗ
• -ăch > -i

Hebrew words often form plurals in unstressed -im /im/ or -ăs /əs/ but native Celtic words may use them too and not all Hebrew words use the Hebrew plural.

Masculine nouns: Nouns beginning with a vowel take אנט ănd, before a labial except /f v/ אם ăm, before a trill א ă, otherwise אן ăn

• אנט אישק'א ănd îșģă = the water
• אם בּיא ăm bia = the food
• אן ל'אַהּ ăn łath = the day
• אן צעך ăn țech = the house
• אן נס ăn nes = the miracle
• א ר'אָל'תּא ă ŗołtă = the star

Feminine nouns: Nouns beginning with a lenitable consonant (except s, t and ț) lenite and take א ă;

• א גּֿעל'אך ă ģhełăch = the moon
• א מֿען ă mhen = the woman/wife
• אן אות ăn oas = the letter (character)
• אן סוכּה ăn sücă = the booth

Plural nouns take נאה năh- /nə(h)/ (the h is only pronounced before a vowel)

• נאה ציש năh țîș = the houses
• נאה ל'אַהאן năh łathăn = the days
• נאה מנאָ năh mno = the women/wives
• נאה אותיות năh usyăs = the letters
• נאה סוכּות năh sücăs = the booths
• נאה ניסים năh nisim = the miracles

Ăn Yidiș has lost the vocative case.

Adjectives

Adjectives always have -ă in the plural, except that the plural of -ăch is -i: the plural of ייִדאך Yidăch 'Jew(ish)' is ייִדי Yidi.

• pred: תּאָ מע בּעק To me beg. = I am short.
• m.sg.: ףער בּעק fer beg = a short man; אן ףער בּעק ăn fer beg = the short man
• f.sg.: דר'עבאר' בֿעק dŗevăŗ bheg = a short sister; אן דר'עבאר' בֿעק ăn dŗevăŗ bheg = the short sister
• pl.: ףיר' אָרדא fiŗ ordă = tall men; נאה ףיר' אָרדא năh fiŗ ordă = the tall men

Comparatives are formed by adding ניס nis 'more' and עס es 'most' before the adjective The only adjective with a separate comparative form is מאָאר moar, with comparative and superlative using מאָא moa.

מאָאר - ניס מאָא - עס מאָא moar - nis moa - es moa = big - bigger - biggest

Some common predicate adjectives that indicate subjective judgements, use guh before them:

• קוֹה בּר'אָ guh bŗo 'is great, nice'
• קוֹה מאַח guh math 'is good'
• קוֹה אָל'ן guh own 'is beautiful'

Pronouns

conj. pronouns: מע טו שע שי מיט שיב שיאט me tü șe și mîd șîv șîd (3sg epicene is most commonly șîd)

disj. pronouns: מע טו ע אי שין שיב איאט me tü e i șîn șîv îd

emphatic prons: מישא, טוסא, שעשאן, שישא, שיניא, שיבשא, שיסאן mișă, tüsă, (ș)eșăn, (ș)ișă, (ș)înyă, (ș)îvșă, (ș)îdsăn (used to address someone: Tüsă!/Îvșă! 'You!')

emphatic suffixes: -șă -să -șăn -șă -yă -șă -săn

Younger Judeo-Gaelic speakers in most communities prefer the ăn levăr agum construction for most nouns except family members and body parts where possessive prefixes are used (cf. Revived Hebrew also usually uses הספר שלי ha-sefer šeli instead of ספרי sifri).

Pronominal possessives can be formed either with the construction "ăn NOUN + [inflected form of ag]" or with possessive prefixes:

• מאָ־בּֿראָהער' mă-bhrohăŗ /mə vrohəɹ/ 'my brother'; מ־אַר' m-aŗ /mahəɹ/ 'my father'
• דאָ־בּֿראָהער' dă-bhrohăŗ /də vrohəɹ/ 'thy brother'; ד־אַר' d-aŗ /dahəɹ/ 'thy father'
• אַ־בּֿראָהער' a-bhrohăŗ /ə vrohəɹ/ 'his brother'; אַ־אַר' a-aŗ /a ahəɹ/ 'his father'
• אַהּ־בּראָהער' ah-brohăŗ /ə brohəɹ/ 'her brother'; אַהּ־אַר' ah-aŗ /əh aɹ/ 'her father'
• אָר־בּראָהער' or-brohăŗ /oɾ brohəɹ/ 'our brother'; אָרן־אַר' orn-aŗ /oɾn aɹ/ 'our father'
• באַר־בּראָהער' văr-brohăŗ /vəɾ brohəɹ/ 'your brother'; באַרן־אַר' vărn-aŗ /vəɾn aɹ/ 'your father'
• אַ־בּראָהער' a-brohăŗ /ə brohəɹ/ 'their brother'; אַן־אַר' an-aŗ /ən ahəɹ/ 'their father'

m- and d- are used before a vowel, a /j/ or when a lenited f results in an initial vowel or /j/: ףיאל fyol /fjol/ 'meat'; מ־ףֿיאל m-fhyol /mjol/ 'my meat'.

A possessive prefix must be used before every noun: 'my mother and my father' is מאָ־מֿאָהער איס מ־אַהער mă-mhohăŗ îs m-ahăŗ, not *mă-mohăŗ îs ahăŗ.

Using possessive prefixes in double-marking possessive constructions such as בא אהרן אַ-בראָהר' אַק משה Vă Ăharăn a-bhrohăŗ ag Mușă. 'Aaron was Moses' brother' (lit. his brother of Moses) is archaic in Ăn Yidiș. (It's a relex of the Hebrew construction אחיו של משה.)

Prepositions

• ag 'at': agum, agăt, eģ, ec̦i, agăn, agăv, acu
• de 'to, for': dum, dît, de, di, din, div, du (d- is deleted after a coronal obstruent)
• ze 'off, away from': zum, zît, ze, zi, zin, ziv, zu
• ouh 'from': uam, uat, ua, uay, uan, uav, uahu
• î(n) 'in': înum, înăt, on, înți, înăn, înăv, întu [în is used before a vowel]
• ăr 'on': orum, orăt, eŗ, eŗi, orăn, orăv, oru
• ăs 'from': asum, asăt, as, ași, asăn, asăv, asu
• ru 'before, in front of': rum, rut, rev, rempi, run, ruv, rompu
• ŗy(n) 'with': ŗum, ŗet, ŗeș, ŗei, ŗin, ŗiv, ŗu
• timpum 'around': umăm, umăt, em, empi, umăn, umăv, umpu
• fă 'under, among': fum, fut, fi, fithi, fun, fuv, fithu

Combinations

î(n) 'in' and ŗî(n) 'with' before a definite article becomes înș, ŗînș (from rebracketing of Proto-Celtic *in sind-):

• אינש אן צעך înș ăn țech 'in the house'
• To șîd înă-fiŗăch înș ă bhelă șo ŗînș năh dînă elă 'They live in this town with the other people'

î + possessive a(n)- 'his/her/their': îna(n)-

î + possessive or- 'our': înăr-

oh 'from' + ăn-/ăm-/ă- : oan-/oam-/oan-

Syntax

Prepositions stick to every noun in a noun phrase: תּאָם ניי ףאָל נאַהּ ףר'עקארצאן אָה מא־מֿאָר' איס אָה מא־בּראָהאר' Tom ney fol năh fŗegărțăn oh mă-mhoŗ îs oh mă-bhrohăŗ 'I got the answers from my mother and brother'

Numerals

Numerals are always followed by the singular form.

0 = אפס efăs, אַה אפס ah efăs (number zero)

counting numbers: אַה אוין, אַה דו, אַה טר'י, אַה צ'עהער, אַה קוג', אַה שש, אַה שעפֿט, אַה אָפֿט, אַה נוי, אַה זעש ah eyn, ah du, ah tŗi, ah c̦ehăr, ah cuģ, ah șeaș (some dialects șey), ah șeft, ah ăft, ah ney, ah zeș

11, 12, ... = eyn zeg, du zeg, tŗi zeg...

20, 30, 40, ... = fișăd, tŗișăd, deyșăd, cuģăd, șeașcăd, șeftăd, ăftăd, neyăd

21, 22, ... = fișăd îs eyn, fișăd îs du, ...

100, 200, ... = c̦ead, du mhea, tŗi mhea, ...

1000 = milă

attributives: 2-6 lenites

Counting humans: fer (ehăd)/men (ahăs), bert, tŗür, c̦ehrăr, cuģăr, șeașăr, șeftăr, ăftăr, neynăr, zeșăr

ordinals: tăsi, elă, tŗiăv, c̦ehrăv, cuģăv,... or just ăh N

There is no true attributive form for "one"; usually the singular form is used in isolation. The Hebrew numeral אחד ehăd (regardless of gender) may be used after the noun means "just one X" when X is indefinite and "the (one and) only X" when X is definite.

מאר ייִדי, תּאָ מיט אק עבודה ז-א אחד.

Măr Yidi, to mîd ăg ăvudă Z-e ehăd.

As Jews, we worship only one G-d.

שי א מֿענין אחד אי, א בּיי גּעל' אַקאָם די ר'יאב.

Și ă mhenîn ehăd i, ă bey geł agom di ŗiev.

She's the only woman who I'll ever love.

Syntax

An Yidiș syntax is similar to Irish or Scottish Gaelic syntax but somewhat simplified:

To Yidi înă-firăch î sach ŗiftăn.

Jews live in many countries.

In transitive sentences, the direct object (if it's a noun) immediately follows the verbal noun:

To ar năh Yidi ag fołîm ăn Tură coch łath.

Jews have to study the Torah every day.

Noun phrase

Ăn Yidiș lost the genitive case except in fossilized expressions. Possession is indicated by the construction ăn X ag Y (lit. the X at Y) when Y is a noun. For example, אַן קאַט אַגּ מאָ־מֿאַק ăn cat ag mă-mhac = my son's cat. Concatenation exists but is more derivational, analogous to compounding in English.

Translating "be"

• "PRON is a NOUN": איש מענין מע Îș menîn me = I'm a woman
• "X is a NOUN": איש מענין אי רבקה Îș menîn i Rîvgă = Rîvgă (Rebekah) is a woman
• "1p/2p is the NOUN": מישא אַ מֿענין אַגּ משה Mișă ă mhenîn ag Mușă = I am Mușă's (Moses') wife
• "3p is the NOUN": שי אַ מֿענין אגּ משה אי Și ă mhenîn ag Mușă i = She is Mușă's wife
  • שי אַ מֿענין אַג משה אי רבקה Și _ă mhenîn ag Mușă_ î _Rîvgă_ (or Și _Rîvgă_ i _ă mhenîn ag Mușă_) = Rîvgă is Mușă's wife
• Predicate adjectives or adjuncts use the verb בּי bi:
  • תּאָ רבקה אָרט To Rîvgă ord 'Rîvgă is tall'
  • תּאָ רבקה אינס אן חדר קאַדאל To Rîvgă îns ăn chedăr cadăl 'Rivcă is in the bedroom'

Infinitive phrases

Infinitive phrases usually correspond to German zu-infinitives, and are also used with some modals. They're of the form a + VN + direct object + oblique objects, where de lenites the VN.

If there is a pronominal direct, a + possessive pronoun (for the pronominal object) + VN must be used, with contractions and mutations occurring as necessary.

Examples:

• ă thavăŗ matonă (NB: does not follow Irish!) = to give a gift (ein Geschenk zu geben)
• o-thavăŗ dum = to give it (masc.) to me
• o-tavăŗ dum = to give it (fem.)/them to me

Relative clauses

• When the head is the subject: ă to (present), ăv (imperfect)
• When the head is NOT the subject: ă vil (present), ă răv (imperfect)

Vocabulary

Derivation

• ־ית -is, pl. ־יות -iyăs or ־יתאן -isăn 'feminine occupational suffix'; today considered optional or dated for most occupations
  • not added to nouns in -ăch; you'd use constructions like men Yidăch
• -in: diminutive
• -ăg: augmentative
• -on: instrumental; diminutive; agentive (Hebrew influence)
• -ol: verbal noun
• -ül: adjective
• -ăfd/-fd: abstract noun
• -łon: place
• -וּת -üs, plural -וּיות -üyăs: nominalizer in Hebrew and Aramaic words (also replaced native -ăs)
  • צניעוּת țni'üs 'modesty' < צנוּע țonüe 'modest'
  • תּיישאכוּת teyșăchüs '(tribal) chiefdom'
• s-/d- pairs (PCel *esu-/*dus-)

Phrasebook

• שלום șolăm = Hello, goodbye
• שלום עליכם șolăm ăléachăm = Hello
• עליכם שלום ăléachăm șolăm = Hello (in response to șolăm aléachăm)
• סל'אָן Słon = (informal) Bye
• בּיאָנאפֿט אַגּאט/אַגּאב Byonăfd agăt/agăv = Thank you (lit. may you have blessing)
• ףאָלצא רוט/רוב Folță rut/ruv = Welcome
• צ'עאד מילא ףאָלצא c̦ead milă folță = A hundred thousand welcomes
• קאַרד ע אנט ענים ר'עט? Card e ănd enim ŗet? = What is your name?
• דוד שע אנט ענים ר'יאָם Dovid șe ănd enim ŗom = My name is David
• ביל אַן אַזליש אַגּאט/אַגּאב? Vîl ăn Azăliș agăt/agăv? = Do you speak English?
• כאַל אן יידיש אַגּאָם Chal ăn Yidiș agum = I can't speak Ăn Yidiș
• כאַלים א טיקשינץ Chalim ă ticșinț = I don't understand
• ל'אַבער' ניס מעלא, ר'י דא־טֿעל = Łavăŗ nis melă, ŗî dă-thel = Please speak more slowly
  • ל'אַבר'וּ ניס מעלא, ר'י באר־טעל Łavŗü nis melă, ŗî văr-tel = above, 2pl
• טאָ איאַר'י אַגּאָם א ל'אַבערץ אס יידיש, אך כאַל כּוֹמאס דאָם. To ieŗi agum ă łavărț ăs Yidiș, ach chal cumăs dum. = I want to speak Ăn Yidiș, but I cannot.
• בּליאן מֿאַהּ בֿיאָניצא Blien mhath bhyoniță /bliən vah vjonitsə/ = Happy new year (Rosh Hashanah greeting)

Dates and time

Days of the week

Note: in Irta/Judeo-Mandarin a day is considered to begin at sunset or nightfall, as according to Jewish law.

• Sunday: זי־סוֹל zi-soal
  • Sunday morning: מאַזין סוֹל mazin soal
  • Sunday afternoon (before sunset): ףעסקאר סוֹל fescăr soal
  • Sunday evening (after sunset): ערב ל'ואַן erev łuan (!)
  • Sunday night: עאשא ל'ואַן eașă łuan (!)
• Monday: זי־ל'ואַן zi-łuan
• Tuesday: זי־מאָרץ zi-morț
• Wednesday: זי־צ'עאדין zi-c̦eadin
• Thursday: זי־זעאראדין zi-zearădin
• Friday: זי־רו־שבּת zi-ru-șabăs
• Saturday: זי־שבּת zi-șabăs

Telling the time

• To și tŗi șo. = It's 3:00.
• To și du șo zeag = It's 12:00.

Colors

• ףין fin = white
• דוב duv = black
• זעראק zerăg = red
• בּוייע buyă = yellow
• גּל'אַס głas = green
• גּאָראם gărăm = blue
• בּאַנאש banăș = violet; purple
• דוֹן doan = brown

Sample texts

Genesis 1:1-5

The "Irish" is the Ăn Yidiș cognatized back into Irish.

א. אר תּוּס תּאָ זיא ניי כּרוֹחוּ אן נייאַבֿ איס אן תּאַל׳.

1. Ăr tüs to Zie ney cruthü ăn nyav îs ăn tał.

(**Ar dtús tá Dia i ndiaidh cruthú na neimhe agus na talún.)

ב. בֿא אן תּאַל׳ גאן ףֿעראם איס ףאָל׳אב, איס בֿא טאכאטוּת אר אן אַי אַק אן תּהוֹם. איס בֿא אן סבּיראט אַק זיא א סנאָב אר אן אַי אַק נאה אישק׳אן.

2. Vă ăn tał găn fherăm îs fołăv, îs vă dăchădüs ăr ăn ay ag ăn tăhum. Îs vă ăn sbîrăd ag Zie ă snov ăr ăn ay ag năh îșģăn.

(**Bhí an talamh gan fhoirm agus folamh, agus bhí dorchadas ar an aghaidh ag an [Heb loan]. Agus bhí an spiorad ag Dia ag séid ar an aghaidh ag na huiscí.)

ג. תּאָ זיא ניי ראָ: ”רעב סאָל׳אס אָן!“ איס בֿא סאָל׳אס אָן.

3. To Zie ney ro: "Rev sołăs on!" Îs vă sołăs on.

(**Tá Dia i ndiaidh rá: "Go raibh solas ann!" Agus bhí solas ann.)

ד. תּאָ זיא ניי ףעץ׳ אן סאָל׳אס, קוֹר מ°אַח ע; איס תּאָ זיא ניי זעל׳וֹ איזיר אן סאָל׳אס איס אן טאכאטוּת.

4. To Zie ney fec̦ ăn sołas, gur mhath e; îs to Zie ney zełu îzîr ăn sołas îs ăn dăchădüs.

(**Tá Dia i ndiaidh feic an tsolais, gur mhaith é; agus tá Dia i ndiaidh dealú idir an tsolais agus an dorchadais.)

ה. תּאָ זיא ניי תּאַקאר׳ טען סאָל׳אס ל׳אַח, איס אן טאכאטוּת תּאָ שע ניי תּאַקאר׳ טע איישא. איס בֿא ערב ע איס בֿא מֿאַטין אי, ל׳אַח אחד.

5. To Zie ney tagăŗ den sołăs łath, îs ăn dăchădüs to șe ney tagăŗ de eyșă. Îs vă erăv e îs vă mhadîn i, łath ehăd.

(**Tá Dia i ndiaidh tagairt don tsolas lá, agus an dorchadas tá sé i ndiaidh tagairt dó oíche. Agus ba [Heb loan] é agus ba mhaidin í, lá [Heb loan].)

From "Dirge Without Music"

קינה ג'אן צֿ'אָל'

Cină ġăn c̦hoł

I am not resigned to the shutting away of loving hearts in the hard ground.
So it is, and so it will be, for so it has been, time out of mind:
Into the darkness they go, the wise and the lovely. Crowned
With lilies and with laurel they go; but I am not resigned.