Irregularities and exceptions in Interlingua
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The term irregularities or exceptions in Interlingua refers to deviations from the logical rules in a few grammatical constructions in the international auxiliary language Interlingua. These oddities are a part of the standard grammar. These special cases have crept into the language as a result to keep it naturalistic. Most of these irregularities also exist in Interlingua's source languages such as English, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and to a lesser extent German and Russian. This feature of the language makes Interlingua more familiar to the speakers of source languages. And at the same time, it makes the language more difficult for others.
The speakers of the source languages don't perceive all deviations as irregular. For instance, Interlingua has two different words for English is (es) and are (son). While most English speakers will not find any thing abnormal about it, speakers of a few other languages may find the use of two words to express the concept of 'simple present' as unnecessary.
Interlingua is notable in the sense that unlike most auxiliary languages, that seek to minimise or eliminate any irregular aspects, Interlingua takes a flexible approach. It is mandatory to use certain exceptions in Interlingua while others have been kept optional.
Required
Pronunciation
Mandatory exceptions
Pronunciation
Unlike Esperanto, the most popular auxiliary language, Interlingua doesn't have a 'one letter one sound' orthography. As in English, several letters can be pronounced in different ways; depending on where they are in a word. For instance, the letter S can be pronounced as either [s] (stato) or [z] (chinese). Here is a list of other mandatory exceptions in pronunciation:
| Letter / Digraph | Possible pronunciations[1] | Rules | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| c | [k] [ts] (or [s]) |
[k] when c is followed by a, o, u or any consonant [ts] (or /s/) when e, i or y come after c |
camera, crear acido, Cinderella |
| ch | [k] [ʧ] [ʃ] |
like [k] in words of Greek origin [ʧ] only in a few words (very rare) [ʃ] in several words that come from the French |
cholera, chrome, echo chic machine, chef |
| h | [h] silent |
usually [h] but silent after r and t |
horlogio rhetoria |
| rh | [r] | always pronounced like [r] | rhetorica, rheumatic |
| s | [s] [z] |
[s] if followed by a consonant [z] between vowels |
son, spa accusative, abstruse |
| sh | [ʃ] | always pronounced like [ʃ] | Shakespeare. |
| th | [t] | always pronounced like [t] | theatro |
| ph | [f] | always pronounced like [f] | photographia, photosynthese |
| t | [t] [ts] |
[t] when it is followed by a, o, u or any consonant [ts] when e, i or y come after t |
tourista creation |
| u | [u:] [w] |
[u:] when between two consonants or stressed before a vowel [w] when unstressed and precedes a vowel |
luna, plural persuade, superflue |
| x | [ks] [z] |
usually [ks] like [z] when precedes a vowel |
affixo xenon, xenophobia |
| y | [j] [i:] |
[j] when unstressed before vowels other like [i:] |
Yugoslavia, yoga tyranno, typo |
Besides, there are also unassimilated guest words that retain their original pronunciation and spelling; though the diacritics are usually removed. Commons examples of such words are radios Röntgen (X rays) and kümmel.
Contractions
- The sequence "de le" is replaced by "del".
- The sequence "a le" is replaced by "al".
Plurals
- If a noun ends with a consonant, it takes a plural in -es (instead of -s).
- If a noun ends with c, it adds -h- and takes a plural in -es.
Parts of speech
- Not all adverbs are derived from adjectives.
- If an adjective ends with -c, an adverb derived from it takes -amente (instead of -mente).
- Sia is the imperative form of esser ('to be'): Sia contente! 'Be content!'
Numbers
- 10 is "dece" (instead of "unanta" as derived from "un").
- 20 is "vinti" (instead of "duanta" or "danta" as derived from "duo").
- 30 is "trenta" (instead of "tresanta" as derived from "tres").
- 40 is "quaranta" (instead of "quatranta" as derived from "quatro").
- A power of 1,000 above 1,000 has "de" between it and the counted objects.
Optional
Pronunciation
- if s is between vowels, it can be pronounced [z], like in "these" (instead of the [s] of "stay")
- if x is between vowels, it can be spoken like the [ɡz] in "exact" (instead of like the [ks] in "fox")
Verbs
Optional short forms
- "ha" for "habe", 'has', 'have'
- "va" for "vade", 'goes', 'go'
- "es" for "esse", 'is', 'am', 'are'
Alternative forms of esser
- Note. These forms are rarely used.
- "son", a plural present tense
- "era" for "esseva"
- "sera" for "essera"
- "serea" for "esserea"
Comparative and superlative adjectives
- "(le) minor" instead of "(le) plus parve"
- "(le) major" instead of "(le) plus magne"
- "(le) melior" instead of "(le) plus bon"
- "(le) pejor" instead of "(le) plus mal"
- "minime" instead of "le plus parve" or "le minor"
- "maxime" instead of "le plus magne" or "le major"
- "optime" instead of "le plus bon" or "le melior"
- "pessime" instead of "le plus mal" or "le pejor"