My Quarantine Project: Galician

[Glass Half Baked]

To keep myself busy in isolation, I started playing around with a Balto-Slavic language which I have confusingly decided to name Galician. It has about 900 words, and a short grammar found here. The whole thing is a little silly, but it passed the time.

[Moose-tache]

How did "Galician" deal with acute vowels? In the document it almost looks like they merged with regular vowels? It would be nice to see the sound changes from Proto-Balto-Slavic.

[Glass Half Baked]

Here is a list of sound changes. I skipped the changes in grammar and usage over the years. It's mostly pretty usual stuff, showing a mix of Baltic and Slavic tendencies. For example, the second and third sibilants merge as in Lithuanian, but Galician also participates in the Second Slavic Palatization. The acute vowels merge with the plain vowels, which distinguishes them from the plain long vowels.

[Glass Half Baked]

I translated Goethe's Wanderer's Nightsong I into Galician. This would have been a popular poem during the Austro-Hungarian period, when Galician intellectuals were heavily influenced by German culture. Below is the Galician text, an IPA transcription, the original in German, and Longfellow's English translation. Note that the liberties Longfellow took with the text are not the same ones taken in Galician.

Ту коука аб небістеjе,
сінеjе манко бе бадеі,
оу антрам деде леізеjе,
ен антрам баліні анеі.
Оjа! Ез моуjа шіс лехус.
Із коу енга бе баjістіс?
Мір салдус,
Ноусі, ноусі ен мас шірдіс!

tu 'kɔukə ɑb nɛ'bistɛjɛ,
si'nɛjɛ 'mɑŋkɔ bɛ 'bɑdɛi,
ɔu 'ɑntrəm 'dɛdɛ 'lɛizɛjɛ,
ɛn 'ɑntrəm 'bɑlini 'ɑnɛi.
ɔ'jɑ! ɛz 'mɔujə ʃis 'lɛhus.
iz kɔu 'ɛŋgə bɛ bɑ'istʃis?
mir 'sɑldus,
'nɔusi, 'nɔusi ɛn mɑs 'ʃirdʒis!

Der du von dem Himmel bist,
Alles Leid und Schmerzen stillest,
Den, der doppelt elend ist,
Doppelt mit Erquickung füllest;
Ach, ich bin des Treibens müde!
Was soll all der Schmerz und Lust?
Süßer Friede,
Komm, ach komm in meine Brust!

Thou that from the heavens art,
Every pain and sorrow stillest,
And the doubly wretched heart
Doubly with refreshment fillest,
I am weary with contending!
Why this rapture and unrest?
Peace descending
Come, ah, come into my breast!