The 12 basic rules of Panglo
Panglo is so simple that its basic grammar can be described in only twelve rules, all of which can fit on a sheet of paper. There are no exceptions.
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World words
Panglo is an evenly global language. International words are borrowed from all parts of the world to Panglo. They are adapted to the pronunciation and orthography of Panglo. One basic word is admitted and additional words are built from it according to rule 12.
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Spelling and pronunciation
Spelling is simple and regular. Every word is pronounced exactly as it is written. Almost every letter and letter-combination indicates always the same sound.
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Regular stress accent
Root words are stressed on the syllable that is before the last consonant of the word, f.ex. háo ('nice'), dúnia ('world'), báshe ('language'), amén ('amen'). Derived words and compound words are stressed according to their components so that the main component carries the primary stress and other components may carry secondary stress, f.ex. trabáshe ('translate'), dúnialìsme ('globalism'), bàshe skóle ('language school'). Primary accent is indicated here by an acute accent (á) and secondary accent by a grave accent (à).
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Word classes
Panglo is an analytical language. It means that its words do not inflect or change their form because of grammar. Therefore the same word can function in different grammatical roles, for example as noun, verb, adjective or adverb, without any change in form. Word forms change only when the word's meaning changes.
This consistent system is a key factor for Panglo's grammatical simplicity as it allows for direct communication without formal grammatical errors.
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Pronouns
The personal pronouns are:
mi 'I', tu 'you' (singular), hi 'he, she, it', wi 'we', yu 'you' (plural), dey 'they'.The possessive pronouns are:
mi's 'my', tu's 'your', hi's 'his or her', wi's 'our', yu's 'your', dey's 'their'.The interrogative pronouns are: wat 'what', hu 'who', hu's 'whose'.
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Nouns
Nouns have only one form, always the same. Their form is not affected by number, gender or case. Number is indicated by number and quantity words. Their role is indicated by word order or by a preposition.
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Numerals
The cardinal numbers are:
0 siro, 1 un, 2 du, 3 tri, 4 for, 5 faif, 6 sixe, 7 seven, 8 eit, 9 nain, 10 ten.
Greater than ten: 11 ten un, 12 ten du, 13 ten tri, etc.
Tens: 20 du ten, 30 tri ten, 40 for ten, etc.
Hundreds: 100 un hunde, 200 du hunde, 300 tri hunde, etc.
Thousands: 1000 un tauzen, 2000 du tauzen, 3000 tri tauzen, etc.When a number is put after the noun, it becomes the corresponding ordinal number:
parte un – part one, the first part
parte du – part two, the second part
parte tri – part three, the third part -
Adjectives
Adjectives modify nouns. The adjective modifier is before the noun that it modifies.
un rapid logu
'a fast speech' -
Adverbs
Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, other adverbs and complete sentences. They come before the word that they modify or very last in the sentence.
un ver long logu – a very long talk
tu long logu. – You talk long. -
Verbs
Panglo verbs do not change in person, number, tense or any other grammatical category. Therefore a plain verb can be understood in many ways (though usually only one interpretation is fitting in the context of the discussion).
mi stude panglo.
'I study ~ studied ~ will study Panglo.'Auxiliary verbs can be used to indicate the moment, the duration and the lasting impact of an action.
- bi indicates an ongoing event.
- hav indicates a completed event, which has an effect on the present situation.
- did indicates a past event.
- vil indicates a future event.
mi hav stude panglo.
'I have studied Panglo.' -
Word order in clauses
The word order is subject–verb–object. The same order is used in declarations and questions.
A passive sentence is created with the help of the passive auxiliary verb ben. A similar effect can also be reached with the impersonal pronoun won.
Panglo ben logu. – Panglo is spoken.
won logu Panglo. – One speaks Panglo.In the pivot construction, the object of the transitive verb functions as the subject of the following verb.
mi ples tu logu Panglo. – I ask you to speak Panglo.
Pronouns can be left out when they are obvious and redundant. mi ples tu logu Panglo. → ples logu Panglo.
– Please speak Panglo. -
Word building
In Panglo, words change only when their actual meaning changes. Words don't ever change only to serve in a different grammatical role. Compound words are made by combining the elements that form them by putting one element after another so that the main element stands at the end.
poste ('mail') + kase ('box') = postekase ('mailbox')
The linking vowel, -o-, can be inserted between the elements especially in compound words that stem from the Greek language.
dem ('people') + kratia ('government, rule') = demokratia ('democracy, rule by the people')