Uropi

Uropi is a constructed language which was created by Joël Landais, a French English teacher. Uropi is a synthesis of European languages, explicitly based on the common Indo-European roots and aims at being used as an international auxiliary language for Europe and thus contributing to building a European identity.

Uropi was begun in 1986; since then, it has undergone certain modifications; its vocabulary keeps growing (the French-Uropi dictionary has over 10,000 words).

Uropi became known in Europe in the early 1990s.

Creator

After studying languages at the University of Orléans, then at the Sorbonne and at the ''École Normale Supérieure'' in Paris, Joël Landais obtained the Agrégation diploma in English. He speaks French, English, Italian, Spanish, German and has a working knowledge of modern Greek and Russian. Today, he teaches English in a Chartres college. Parallel to his training as a linguist, his travels throughout Europe, Senegal, the Maghreb, Egypt, Mexico, former USSR, Vietnam and the West Indies, together with a passion for languages, led him to create Uropi.

Orthography and phonology

The Uropi alphabet has 26 letters, the 26 letters of the ISO Basic Latin alphabet minus q, plus the letter ʒ, which comes from the International Phonetic Alphabet. Each letter corresponds to a sound and each sound to a letter.

All consonants are pronounced as in English except
* c = , which is always pronounced as ''sh''
* g = , which is always pronounced as in "give"
* j = , which is pronounced as y in "you" or "boy"
* ʒ = which is pronounced as ''s'' in "pleasure, measure, leisure"
* r = , which is rolled as in Italian, Spanish or Scottish
* s = , which is always pronounced as ''s'' in "this" or ''ss'' in "boss'", and never as ''z''.
* x = , used in foreign names

* y = , used in foreign names


The vowels ''a, e, i, o, u'' are pronounced as in Italian or Spanish: ''casa, solo, vino, luna, pepe''. Stress normally falls on the main root. For example, in ''apkebo'' = to behead, the stress falls on ''keb'' = head. However some suffixes (such as ''-èl'' indicating an instrument) and the ending ''-ì'' for the past are always stressed; when two or more suffixes are combined, the stress always falls on the penultimate suffix (the last but one). The stress is marked with a written accent (à è ì ò ù) on the stressed vowel when it falls on the last syllable. For example: ''kotèl, perì, fotò, menù'' = "knife, carried, photo, menu".

Vocabulary

Roots

Uropi roots can be divided into three categories:

Indo-European roots

First and foremost Uropi claims to be a way to recreate a unity between Indo-European languages. With this aim, a great many Uropi roots correspond to common Indo-European roots which have been simplified, in their pronunciation and length (very often Uropi roots have one or two syllables). Thus, mother is ''mata'' (from Indo-European: ''mātēr*''); sun is ''sol'' (from Indo-European: ''sāwel*''). This simplification corresponds to the natural evolution of Indo-European roots which have given birth to the words which are used today in modern I-E languages. Thus ''mata'' corresponds to Hindi ''mata, sol'' to Spanish, Portuguese, Galician, Icelandic, and Scandinavian ''sol''.

"Hybrid" roots

When there is no common Indo-European root or when there are several roots to express the same reality in various languages, Uropi may use "hybrid" words, crossing two different roots taken from different languages so as to create the most easily recognizable term for speakers of the greatest number of Indo-European languages. Thus, in ''liamo'', to love, the ''li-'' comes from Germanic and Slavic languages (cf German ''lieben'' and Russian ''liubit''), and the ''-am'', from Latin languages (''amo, amare, amar''); or in ''mand'', hand, the ma- comes from Latin languages and the -and, from Germanic languages (cf Latin ''manus'' and German ''hand'') This process is not so artificial as it seems at first sight: It has been observed in natural languages, for example, the French ''haut'' (high) comes from the crossing between old Fr. ''aut'' (from Latin ''altus'') and Frankish ''hōh''. Likewise, the English ''island'' comes from the crossing of Old English ''īeġland'' (from Proto-Germanic ''*awjōlandą'') and Old French ''isle'' (from Latin ''insula'')''.'' It has also been deliberately used in languages like English to form new words: " portmanteau-words", for instance, the famous London "smog" comes from the crossing of '"smoke" and "fog". Let us also mention the words franglais'' (Fr = ''français'' + ''anglais''), ''denglisch'' (Ger. = ''Deutsch'' + ''Englisch''), ''spanglish'' (US = Spanish + English). These "hybrid" words only account for 3% of Uropi vocabulary.

International words

Uropi also uses many words which are already "international", like ''taksì, skol'' (school), ''bus, art, matc'' (match), ''polìz'' (police), ''simfonij'' (symphony), and ''tabàk'' (tobacco).

Compounds

As many other conlangs, Uropi uses many compounds, either combining two roots, or using prefixes and suffixes.
Among the former, there are the following examples: ''lucitòr'', "lighthouse", from ''luc'', "light" and ''tor'', "tower"; or, with ''sopo'', "to sleep", ''sopisàk'', "sleeping-bag", or ''sopivagòn'', "sleeper" (train).

There are also numerous examples of compounds built with prefixes or suffixes: for example with ''davo'', "to give", ''disdavo'', "to distribute", can be formed; with ''tel'', "goal, purpose", ''atelo'', "end up in, come to", can be formed; with ''breko'', "to break", and ''us'', "out", ''usbreko'', "to break out", can be formed; with ''apel'', "apple", ''aplar'', "apple tree", and ''aplaria'', "apple orchard", can be formed.

In most cases, those compounds reveal the roots and thus the meaning of the compound. However, some of those compounds, even if they follow the etymology of equivalent words in living European languages, have a more obscure, rather metaphorical meaning. Thus, ''ruspeko'', literally "to look back", means "to respect"; or ''incepo'', literally "to seize, to grasp inside", means "to understand" (reminiscent of "to grasp (a concept)").

Grammar

Substantives

Like some modern Indo-European languages, Uropi has a very limited declension with only two cases: nominative and genitive in the singular and the plural.
Uropi substantives are divided into three groups: those ending in a consonant, those ending in ''-a'' and those ending in another vowel.

Among those ending in a consonant are all masculine nouns, ''i.e.,'' nouns denoting men or male animals: ''man'': "man"; ''kat'': "(tom)cat".

Those nouns take an -e in the plural; the genitive singular is marked with an ''-i'', and the genitive plural with ''-is'': ''man, mane, mani, manis'' = "man, men, man's, men's".

All feminine nouns, ''i.e.,'' nouns denoting women or female animals end in ''-a'': ''ʒina'': "woman"; ''kata'': "(she)cat". These nouns take an -s in the plural. The ''-a'' becomes ''-u'' in the genitive singular, ''-us'' in the genitive plural: ''gala, galas, galu, galus'' = "hen, hens, hen's, hens'".

All the other substantives are neuter: they can equally end with a consonant or with an ''-a'': for example, ''tab'': "table", ''ment'': "mind", or ''teatra'': "theatre", ''centra'': "centre". They correspond to the neuter personal pronoun ''je'' = "it".

The nouns ending with another vowel are essentially "international" words like ''taksì, eurò, menù''. They take an ''-s'' in the plural, but no specific mark in the genitive.

Adjectives

As in English, qualifying adjectives are invariable. They are placed before the noun they qualify. Some are "pure" adjectives: ''bun'': "good"; ''glen'': "green", ''kurti'': "short", others are derived from nouns. In this case, their form is identical to that of the genitive singular: ''mani'': "manly, man's"; ''ʒinu'': feminine, "woman's".

A few quantitative indefinite adjectives which are also pronouns take an ''-e'' in the plural: ''mol, mole'' = "much, many", ''poj, poje'' = "little, few", ''tal, tale'' = "every, all", ''ek, eke'' = "some, a few".

Pronouns

Personal pronouns have three cases: nominative, accusative (also used with all prepositions) and dative. Possessive adjectives are used for the genitive. As in English, there are three pronouns in the third person singular (masculine: ''he''; feminine: ''ce''; neuter: ''je'') as well as a reflexive pronoun. For example: ''i'' = "I" (nominative), ''ma'' = "me" (accusative), ''mo'' = "to me" (dative), ''tu, ta, to'' = "you", etc.

List of personal pronouns: ''i, tu, he, ce, je, nu, vu, lu'' = "I, you ''(singular)'', he, she, it, we, you ''(plural & polite form)'', they". Reflexive pronoun: ''sia'' = "oneself".

Verbs

Uropi verbs have indicative, imperative and conditional moods, as well as a simple form, a durative (continuous) form and a perfect form.
* Except in the imperative, the verbal form remains the same whatever the person.
* The infinitive ending is ''-o'': ''jedo'': "to eat", ''sopo'': "to sleep", ''avo'': "to have".
* The form of the simple present is that of the radical: ''i jed'': "I eat", ''tu sop'': "you sleep".
* The simple past is formed by adding a stressed ''-ì'': ''i jedì'': "I ate", ''he avì'': "he had".
* To form the future you use the particle ''ve'' with the infinitive: ''i ve jedo'': "I'll eat", ''ve tu sopo?'': "will you sleep?" ''lu v'ne veno'': "they won't come".
* The conditional is formed by adding ''-ev' to the stem: ''Is i sev fami, i jedev'': "If I was (lit. would be) hungry, I would eat".
* The perfect uses the auxiliary ''avo'': "to have" and the past participle ending in ''-en'': ''i av jeden'': I have eaten, ''ce av venen'': "she has come".
* The durative (''continuous'') form uses the auxiliary ''so'': "to be" and the present participle, ending in ''-an'': ''i se jedan'': "I'm eating", ''se he sopan?'': "is he sleeping?'"
* The imperative: ''jed, jede, jedem'': "eat!" (singular/plural), "let's eat!"
* The passive uses the auxiliary ''vido'': "to get, to become" and the past participle: ''De mus vid jeden pa de kat'': "The mouse is eaten by the cat".

Numbers

1: ''un''; 2: ''du''; 3: ''tri''; 4: ''kwer''; 5: ''pin''; 6: ''ses''; 7: ''sep''; 8: ''oc''; 9: ''nev''; 10: ''des''; 100: ''sunte''; 1000: ''tilie''. 357: ''trisunte pindes-sep''.
Ordinal numbers are formed by adding ''-i'' or ''-j'' (after a vowel): ''duj'': "second"; ''trij'': "third", ''kweri'': "fourth", ''pini'': "fifth"; the exception is ''pri'': "first".

Fractions are formed by adding ''-t'' to numbers: ''u trit'': "a third", ''u kwert'': "a fourth, a quarter"; the exception is ''mij'': "half".

Example: "A Child's Thought", by R. L. Stevenson

See also

* Swadesh lists for auxlang (ru)

References

External links

*

Blog by the author of Uropi (in Uropi, French, English and sometimes other languages)

Uropi features
in the Conlang Atlas of Language Structures.

{{Constructed languages

International auxiliary languages
Constructed languages introduced in the 1980s
1986 introductions
Constructed languages