Irregularities and exceptions in Interlingua

This page describes the irregularities or exceptions in the auxiliary language Interlingua. Most of these irregularities also exist in English and the Romance languages that Interlingua uses as its source material. By extension, they also occur in many other languages.

Thus, they are not felt as irregular by many speakers. For example, the German "besser", the English "better", the French "meilleur", and the Spanish "mejor" have much the same role as the Interlingua adjective "melior", listed below. Speakers of such languages as these expect to see a distinct word for 'better' and generally feel comfortable with its use. The verb "son" ('are', "pl") is less widespread worldwide and is also rare in Interlingua. In nearly all languages, the word for "ten" is separate from "one", rather than derived from it. Not surprisingly, the Interlingua words "dece" and "un" are also separate.

Interlingua is notable in the sense that most languages intended as auxiliary languages seek to minimise or eliminate any irregular aspects. Interlingua offers a more flexible approach. The exceptions below are a compromise that, among other things, makes the language appear more familiar to speakers of the languages in which these forms can be found.

Interlingua usage specifies that most of these exceptions are optional, so that their use or otherwise is not mandated.

Required

Pronunciation

*If "c" is succeeded by "e", "i" or "y", it is pronounced as IPA| [ts] , or optionally IPA| [s] (instead of "k").
*"ch" is pronounced like the IPA| [k] "echo" or "chrome", occasionally as the IPA| [ʃ] in "chef".
*"rh" is pronounced as r.
*"sh" is pronounced as IPA| [ʃ] , as in English.
*"th" is pronounced as t.
*"ph" is pronounced as f.
*If "ti" is unstressed before a vowel and not preceded by "s", it is pronounced like "IPA| [tsj] " in "gets you", "IPA| [sj] " in "pass you" or "IPA| [tj] " in "let you" (instead of as "ti").
*If "u" is unstressed before a vowel, it is pronounced as IPA| [w] , like in "persuade" (instead of like in "plural").
*If "y" is unstressed before a vowel, it is pronounced as IPA| [j] , like "yes" (instead of like in "machine").
*There exist unassimilated guest words which retain their original pronunciation and spelling minus all redundant diacritical signs.

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 as IPA| [z] , like in "these" (instead of the IPA| [s] of "stay")
*if "x" is between vowels, it can be spoken like the IPA| [gz] in "exact" (instead of like the IPA| [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"

External links

*http://members.optus.net/~ado_hall/interlingua/gi/home/entry_page.html
*http://www.interlingua.com/en/gramword.htm