1.

INTRODUCTION

1.1. Land and people

When I was a student at the Institute for Eastern European Studies during the years
1989-1994, I caught interest for nationalities questions in the (former) Soviet Union.
While preparing a paper on Polish-Ukrainian relations, I accidentally stumbled upon
a small nation living in the north of Russia, the Hats, a people I had never heard of
before. I got fascinated immediately, not only by their very existence, but also, in
particular, by their language.

Although I was never educated as a professional linguist, I became a professional

Polish translator. Scientific linguistics, however, were always a major hobby of mine,
which allowed me to make a study of the Hattic language. Modesty commands me
to warn anyone who reads this text, that it is the work of a devoted amateur, not of a
professional. Besides, I feel I should make it clear, that I am not at all a fluent speaker
of the Hattic language. Therefore, my notes are merely based upon the works of such
outstanding scientists like Gustav Bauer, Vadim Barskij, Gennadij Voznesenskij, and
Igor Lãkelma.

The first thing that caught my interest was the fact, that the Hattic language forms an
entirely independent branch of the Indo-European language family, which ought to
be sufficient to attract the attention of linguistic circles. Surprisingly, this happened
only in a few cases. I hope that my short sketch of the language, probably the first
time it ever appears on the Internet, will contribute to a broader recognition of the
Hattic people and its needs; it is my sincere conviction, that they deserve it.

Not much is known about the early history of the Hats. Most scientists identify them
with a tribe mentioned by the ancient Greek historian Herodotus of Halicarnassus,
the ’Ωσκάρoι, who must have lived somewhere north of contemporary Ukraine, and
who were frequently at war with their southern neighbours, the Scyths. According
to this theory, the name ’Ωσκάρoι has survived in the name of another people,
related to the Hats, the Askai.

Others place them further to the east, in the vicinity of Lake Aral, the territory of
Saks and Sarmats.

A third theory considers them as an offspring of the Hatti, a non-Indo-European

people that lived in Asia Minor in the 2nd millennium B.C., and later heavily
influenced the culture of the Hettites. This idea, however, is based upon nothing but
the similarity of the name, which in the opinion of many is just a mere coincidence; if
it were true, the Hats would have borrowed from their ancestors nothing but their
very name. It is safer to believe, that earlier theorists, who erroneously linked them
with the Hatti, called them Hats, and that this name later became customary in
wider circles. The misunderstanding could be due to a resemblance to the name of
the Hats in their own language, Chadeš. This word has actually been derived from
the old Hattic word for mountain, chardura; literally, Hats means “mountaineers”.

There is a fourth theory that sees the Hats as “a lost Tocharian tribe”. It is true that
certain similarities cannot be denied, but the differences between the languages, both
lexically and morphologically, are too huge to give credibility to the hypothesis of
common roots with the Tocharians or their ancestors. It is possible, however, that the
Hats and the Tocharians have shared a portion of common history.

Personally I believe, that the first theory makes most sense. It even appears, that the
Hats must have lived in the territory north of Ukraine for a considerably long period.
This would explain both certain phonological similarities with the Iranian languages
and, through the long-time presence of Gothic and other East Germanic tribes in
those territories, the unmistakable influence of the Germanic languages at the Hattic
sound system. It would also explain why, despite the Hats’ inhabiting a territory
belonging mostly to Uralic peoples, the latter's influence on the Hattic language is
rather insignificant. From this point of view, it is the only theory for which there is
any linguistic evidence whatsoever.

The first written evidence of a Hattic state dates back only to the second half of the
thirteenth century, when the existence of a “Hattic prince, fierce and courageous”
was mentioned in the chronicles of Vasilij Nesmejanov. Except for being “fierce and
courageous” the prince was also known for his cruelty towards his enemies.
Unfortunately, very little written material has been left to us about the period the
Hattic princes; all we know for certain is, that they were regularly at war with their
North Slavonic neighbours. The only thing that we know for certain, is that the
Hattic princedom was subjuged by the Moscovian tsar between 1488 and 1507, and
that subsequently the Hattic nobility lost all its privileges and fell back into
peasantry within decades.

The Hattic Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed in 1918, shortly
after the Bolsheviks took over in Russia. It was the beginning of a cultural revival
during the 1920s. The leftist writer Konstantin Vurak, who took the position of 1st
secretary of the Communist Party in the HASSR, made an enormous contribution to
this. After centuries of different orthographies, Hattic spelling was finally
standardized. Literature, music and other forms of art flourished; there was also a
major increase in Hattic education. Later, all these things were considered by the
Stalinist regime as forms of nationalism, and in the thirties, most of them were put to
an end. The Cyrillic alphabet was imposed to replace the original Latin alphabet in
the same year when Vurak died in a Siberian camp.

After Stalin's death improvement came, be it slowly and step-by-step. In the sixties,
as a result of the relative freedom enjoyed under Khrushchev’s regime, a group of
writers within the communist party, the so-called “sfešmetakeš”, including Valentin
Vurak, Konstantin's grandson, advocated an upgrade of the status of the Hattic
language. They made Hattic literature flourish again and succeeded in a small-scale
reappearance of Hattic education; however, their efforts to change the Hattic ASSR's
status into that of a union republic, failed. Part of their accomplishments were
undone under Brezhnev's rule, but this was only a temporary setback. In the second
half of the eighties, the period of perestroika, a large national movment emerged,
cumulating into the People's Front for Freedom and Perestroika (Sejser Front az
Ajšadej ha Darmichazuj, SFAD), the Hattic equivalent of the Baltic People's Fronts. It's
leader became Igor Lãkelma, long-time professor of Hattic linguistics at the
University of Bazor-Hel, and a prolific writer, who had earlier belonged to
the sfešmetakeš.

The Hattic Republic, as it is called now, was founded in the year 1993. Lãkelma was
elected its president, and the Hattic language soon received the status of its first
official language, next to Russian. Lãkelma still enjoys great popularity, and among
Hats he enjoys an almost legendary, heroic status, though it must be said, that his
political activities clearly had a negative influence on his writing.

Currently, the republic is facing similar problems as other post-Sovjet multinational

entites, in particular the bad economic situation and the nationalities issue. There is
much tension between the Hats and the Askai on one hand, and the Russians and
other Slavonic minorities on the other.

The Russians constitute 32 % of the republic's population, thus outnumbering the

Hats (24,6 %), the Askai (17,1 %), and the Dolans (1,3 %). There has always been a
huge amount of Russians on Hattic territory, but their number increased steadily
under communist rule as a result of its policy of russification. Almost all of them
have Russian as their native language, and only 16,6 % are able to speak Hattic.
Similar figures apply also to other Slavic minorities on Hattic territory, mainly
Ukrainians, Belorussians, Motyaks and Vozgai. Of the Hats, on the other hand, only
60,4 % consider Hattic as their first language, while the vast majority of the others
have Russian as its native language; 7,5 % of them do not even speak Hattic. Only
the Solybians, an autochtonous people of North-Slavonic origin, who consitute 11,1 %
of the republic's population, tend to assimilate rather with the Hats than with the
Russians.
 1.2. Classification of the Hattic language

The Indo-European language tree can be divided into two subcategories: kentum
and satem languages. Traditionally, this division was paralleled with a division into
north-western and south-eastern languages. However, the discovery of the two
ancient Tocharian languages near the Chinese border, at the beginning of the 20th
century, prompted scientists to the conclusion that one could rather speak of a
division between the more innovative satem languages in the centre, and the kentum
languages, which more or less preserved ancient Indo-European phonology, in the
periphery. This seemed to confirm J. Schmidt's gulf theory.

Hattic belongs to a group known as the “Khadurian languages”. It can be classified

as a kentum language and is located in the northern periphery. Thus, it fills the gap
between Tocharian and the Germanic languages. However, it underwent its own
typical soundshifts that distinguish it from the other kentum languages. Characteric
for the Hattic language is the spirantisation of Indo-European alveolars. Through
this fact, the language is richer in spirants than other kentum languages, and it might
easily be mistaken for a satem language. Besides, like the Germanic languages,
Hattic shows a tendency towards devoicing the voiced Indo-European consonants
unvoiced and vice versa. Its vowel system, on the other hand, is especially rich in
nasal vowels. Due to its location the Hattic language has been subject to strong
influences from both the Slavonic and the Iranian languages over the centuries.

The Khadurian group of languages contains four languages:

 Hattic, spoken by about 208,000 people in the rajons Bazor-Hel, Ratak and
Bãhelsa;
 Askaic, also known as East Hattic, is the second native language of the
HASSR and spoken by approx. 145,000 people, mainly in the eastern rajons of
Vešegura, Magura and Nirus;
 Megza (Megan), also known as South Hattic, consists of two dialects, Megza
proper and Kopsa, both spoken in the Vozgian ASSR, in and around the town
of Stolar-Megan, by approx. 66,000 people;
 Dolan, also known as Mountain Hattic, is spoken by approx. 10,000 people in
the Ujhanuf rajon in the HASSR, and can be considered an endangered
language.

Though the differences between the languages are not extremely large, it would go
much too far to speak of dialects of one language. Only Askaic and Dolan, which are
closely related to each other, are mutually understandable. It is said that with some
effort the Dolans and the Hats can understand each other as well, though I was
never given the opportunity to verify this for myself. This could, of course, just be
the result of the geographical position of the Dolans, roughly between the Hats and
the Askai; more probable, however, is the explanation, that the Dolan language is
closest to the Proto-Khadurian language, in the way that mountaineers' languages
usually show some sort of innate conservatism, due to their relative isolation.

We have no written evidence of a Proto-Khadurian language, but it is very probable,

that the ancestors of Hats, Askai, Megans and Dolans once spoke a common
language, that divided into its daughter language relatively late. In his “Versuch
einer Rekonstruktion des Proto-Chadurischen” Gustav Bauer made an attempt to
reconstruct it. His reconstruction of Proto-Khadurian is still used as a standard,
though in my opinion he leans too heavily on Hattic. Besides, what he could not
have foreseen, was that in 1930 the German scientist Friedwald von Kipping would
discover an old manuscript from the North-East of the peninsula Kola in what
appears to be a fifth Khadurian language, now long extinct.

1.3. Dialects

I am not entirely sure about the dialects, but so far a I know, a general distinction
could be made between a north-eastern dialect (the “standard” dialect) and a south-
western dialect.

1.4. Suggestions for further reading

Vadim Barskij, “Malenkij slovar’ chadskogo jazyka” (Moskva, 1959)

Gustav Bauer, “Versuch einer Rekonstruktion des Proto-Chadurischen” (Berlin, 1886)
Maxim Bel’skij, “Kak eto skazat’ po-chacki?” (Leningrad, 1987)
Friedwald von Kipping, “Kolanisch, die fünfte Khadurische Sprache” (Berlin, 1930)
Victor Korolyuk, “The Hattic ASSR” (Vancouver, 1982)
Igor Lãkelma, “Zõjuk Chadeš” (Bazor-Hel, 1976)
Malcolm McKenzie, “A Hattic Grammar” (Edinburgh, 1991)
Tadeusz Wolski & Mirosław Falik, “Kolańskie rękopisy” (Kraków, 1932)

There is also an interesting link (unfortunately, it is currently dead; let’s hope it will
be revived soon): http://www.bazor-hel.ru/univ/hatistika.html

2. PHONOLOGY

2.1. The Hattic alphabet

Traditionally, the Hattic language is written in Latin script. In 1936 the Cyrillic script
was imposed for political reasons, while the Latin script was banned. After the fall of
the USSR, Latin script was restored in 1992. However, many people, especially the
older generation, still prefer to use the Cyrillic alphabet.

The Hattic Latin alphabet contains 29 letters and one combination of two letters.

A Ã Ä B C Č D E F G H Ch I Ĩ J K
LMNOÕPRSŠTUVZŽ

2.2. Vowels

The Hattic vowel system is relatively easy. It makes no difference between long
vowels and short vowels, nor is there a difference between open vowels and closed
vowels. Thus, it corresponds more or less with the vowel system of most Slavonic
languages. The only important difference is the frequent presence in Hattic of nasal
vowels.

The SAMPA transcription is given between square brackets.

a [A] like a in English “shark”

e [E] like e in English “jetset”
i [i] like ea in English “beast”
o [O] like o in English “loss”
u [u] like oo in English “booze”
ã [A~] like an in French “quarantaine”
ĩ [E~] like in in French “crétin”
õ [O~] like on in French “cochon”
ä [æ, is pronounced as a vowel between
@] [@] (schwa, like e in English
“the”) and i in English “shit”

In sophisticated speech the nasal vowels (ã, ĩ, õ) are always pronouned in the above
way. However, especially among younger people – and in cases when someone
speaks rather quickly – there is a strong tendency towards assimilation of the nasal
with the subsequent consonant, even if the latter is at the beginning of the next word.
At the end of a word, the nasal is sometimes not pronounced at all. Thus:
trõbaz can be pronounced like [trombaz]
sĩder can be pronounced like [sender]
zãker can be pronounced like [zaŋker]
janaf zõ can be pronounced like [janaf zo].

2.3. Diphthongs

Hattic knows only three diphtongs, and they appear not very frequently.

combination like ow in English

au [Aw]
of a-u “cow”
more or less
[Ou, combination
ou like ow in English
o] of o-u
“show”
combination like wa in English
uo [wO]
of u-o “water”

2.4. Consonants
alveo-
labial alveolar velar
palatal
plosive,
p t č [tS] k
unvoiced
dž
plosive, voiced b d g
[dZ]
fricative, ch
f s š [S]
unvoiced [x]
fricative, voiced v z ž [Z]
affricate,
c [ts]
unvoiced
affricate, voiced dz
trill r
approximant l j h
(ŋ
nasal m n
[N])

2.5. Phonology
The Indo-European vowel system remains largely unchanged in Hattic. The
letter ä usually takes over the place of IE short e or @ (schwa). The nasal vowels ã, ĩ,
and õ exist only in Hattic proper; they replace Proto-Hattic am/an, em/en, om/on.

Typical for Hattic is the combination of two factors: the spirantization of Indo-
European unaspirated alveolars, and a soundshift slightly reminiscent of the
Germanic languages. This soundshift can be described as follows:

 unaspirated plosives become fricatives;

 voiced aspirated plosives become unvoiced unaspirated plosives;
 likewise, unvoiced aspirated plosives become voiced aspirated plosives;
 Indo-European s (including sŭ) becomes the palatal fricative š;
 the Indo-European unvoiced palatal k’ becomes a voiced
fricative ž (sometimes č);
 the Indo-European voiced palatal g’ becomes a affricate dž;
 Indo-European ŭ becomes j.

The Hattic sound shift is represented in the following (simplified) scheme:

labial/labiodental dental/alveolar palatal velar/guttural

unaspirated, k’ > ž
p>f t>s k > ch
unvoiced (č)
unaspirated, g’ >
b>v d>z g>h
voiced dž
aspirated, k’h >
ph > b th > d kh > g
unvoiced c (č)
aspirated, g’h >
bh > p dh > t gh > k
voiced dz
nasal m>m n>n
spirant s>š
trill r>r
approximant ŭ>j ĭ>j h>h
lateral
l>l
approximant

2.6. Accent

Accent is usually placed on the first syllable of the word root; this is, however, not a
rule. In verbs with a prefix it is often the prefix that is stressed, but not always. Stress
is never affected by inflection. In foreign words, stress usually corresponds with the
original language.

3. NOUNS

3.1. General

The Hattic language has three genders (masculine, feminine, neuter), three numbers
(singular, dual, plural), and six cases (nominative, genitive, dative, accusative,
instrumental, locative).

There is no article; “bäig” can be translated as “fish”, “a fish”, and “the fish”,
depending on the context of a sentence. For example:

Nasra esã bäig. “I never eat fish.”

Jolõ jãz bäig. “I want to be a fish.”
Ad bäig, šã moj zazada hãsu, muda. “The fish you gave me yesterday is dead.”

3.2. Declension of nouns

There are six declensions. Good examples of each declension

are: kjär “animal”, präk “mountain”, suraj “tree”, rajsa “rose”, bäig “fish”,
and aulu “apple”.

I
II III IV V VI
(masc.)
(masc.) (masc.) (fem.) (fem.) (neut.)
-Ø, -o,
-Ø -aj -a -Ø, -i -u
-oš
singular
nom. kjär präk suraj rajsa bäig aulu
gen. kjäru präkš suraf rajsaš bäigš aulu
dat. kjäruj präkej suraj rajsaj bäihi auluj
acc. kjärõ präkĩ surã rajsã bäigĩ aulu
instr. kjärud präkes surad rajsis bäiges aulud
loc. kjäri präki suraj rajsi bäihi auli
dual
nom. kjäroj präkaf suraf rajsaf bäigaf aulaf
gen. kjäruš präkuš surauš rajsuš bäiguš auluš
 dat. kjärop präkup surap rajsap bäigep aulup
acc. kjäroj präkaf suraf rajsaf bäigaf aulaf
instr. kjärmo präkmo surajmo rajsmo bäigmo aulmo
loc. kjärus präkus surajus rajsus bäihus aulus
plural
nom. kjäreš präkeš sureš rajseš bäigeš aula
gen. kjärem präkem surem rajsam bäihum aulum
dat. kjärpu präkpu surajpu rajspu bäigpu aulpu
acc. kjärĩ präkĩ surĩ rajsĩ bäigeš aula
instr. kjärmu präkmu suraš rajsmu bäigmu aulmu
loc. kjäršu präkšu surajšu rajspuj bäigpuj aulšu

3.3. Derivation of nouns

Nouns can be derived in several ways, mostly from adjectives, verbs, and other
nouns. The most obvious way to derive a noun from an adjective, is the latter's mere
substantivation. In this cases the adjective does not change its form; it still behaves
like an adjective. Example:

Ajr õs as feluš “Deliver us from evil”

Belonging to the same category are those cases, where the adjective is actually a
participle form of a verb. This can be either the present participle, the perfect
particple, or the gerund (future participle). In the first case the noun is the person or
object performing the action denoted by the verb in question, in the latter two cases
it is its direct object. Examples:

gänuz “to begin” > gänunder “beginning, beginner”

vzoraz “to listen” > vzorãder “listening, listener”
januz “to love” > jajãver “beloved”
tänz “to do” > tãrer “something to be done”; tãreš “things to be done”

Another type of substantivized adjective is a noun that denotes the characteric

expressed by it. In English, this is done by suffixes like -ness (brightness,
happiness), -ship (friendship), or -ty (in Latin/French loanwords: infinity, stupidity).
In Hattic, this effect is usually achieved by adding one of the following suffixes to
the root of the adjective: -šad when the root ends in an unvoiced consonant; -
žad when the root ends in a voiced consonant; -ščad when the root ends in an
unvoiced spirant, where š replaces s; -ždžad when the root ends in a voiced spirant,
where ž replaces z; -ešad when the root ends in three (or more) consonants, or when
the root ends in two consonants, where the latter is l, r, m, or n. All words ending
on -šad, -žad, and -čad are female in gender and are inflected according to the fifth
declination. Examples:

sefer “friendly” > sefšad “friendliness, friendship”

siver “thick” > sivžad “thickness”
sejser “national” > sejščad “nationality”
nozer “naked” > noždžad “nakedness”
plojfler “eloquent (lit. flowerful)” > plojflešad “eloquence”

A third category of substantivized adjectives can be observed, when a characteristic

is applied to a person. This can be done in two ways: by adding the suffix -ak for a
male or -(a)ka for a female person to express a positive or neutral attitude towards
him/her, and by adding the suffix -och (always male) to give it an explicitly negative
connotation. Examples:

häder “grey” > hädak “aged person, old-timer”

naser “sweet” > nasak (m) or naska (f) “sweetie, my dear”
feler “bad” > felak “bad person”
feler “bad” > feloch “bad-ass”
marer “dirty” > maroch “dirty person”
urper “weak” > urpoch “weakling”

This does not happen automatically, even when the adjective explicitly describes the
person's character, look or state; a dead person is a “muder”, not a “mudak”,
although the latter form is sometimes used jokingly.

Nouns can also be derived from verbs. Again, the most obvious way of doing so is
just substantivizing its actual meaning, thus giving it the meaning: the act of doing
something. The corresponding suffix in English is -ing (or -nce or -tion in the case of
romance loanwords). In Hattic, this is done by adding -u to the infinitive; it is
inflected according to the 6th declination. Example (I know it is not the most decent
thing to say, but I heard this sentence literally used in a conversation between two
men near a kiosk in Bazor-Hel, and it is a perfect sample of verb substantivation):

Zad moj tafazu madžã garsã du ipsazu. “Killing give me greater pleasure than
fucking.”

Secondly, a verb can be substantivized by giving it the meaning of a

person/thing/factor that performs a certain action, or causes it to happen. This
category includes most professions; English equivalents are numerous; most
frequently words ending in -er. The difference with the category of present
participles used as nouns, is rather small. One could say, that in this case the nouns
has a more fixed substantival meaning; it remains, however, a matter of idiom.
Such forms are created by adding the suffix -(a)k to the verbal root; -ik is used in
those rare cases, when the noun is derived from a verb of the i-conjugation.
Examples:

baucaz “to work” > baucak “worker”

joguz “to speak” > jogak “speaker”
ušiz “to exist” > ušik “a being, creature”
jufartãz “to travel” > jufartãk “traveller”

The largest category are nouns derived from other nouns. There are numerous ways
to do this, not all of which will be mentioned here. I will limit myself to the most
imporant categories.

First of all, there are diminutive and augmentative forms. Diminutions are created
by the infix -l- between the root of a noun and the suffix designating its gender.
Augmentations are created by adding the suffix -och to the root. Often, but not
always, they have a negative connotation. Examples:

1st declension: kjär “animal” > kjäral “little animal”, kjäroch “large animal, beast,
monster”
2nd declension: präk “mountain” > präkel “little mountain, pile”, präkoch “huge
mountain”
3rd declension: suraj “tree” > sural “little tree”, suroch “large tree”
4th declension: bärna “woman” > bärnala “little woman”, bärnoch “big/bad/ugly
woman”
5th declension: bäjgi “fish” > bäigila “fishie”, bäigoch “enormous fish”
6th declension: mudžu “sound” > mudžulu “little sound”, mudžoch “noise”

Very frequently used are nouns designating a person, whose expertise is in a certain
field, or who makes his business of something (English: -ist, -an). In most cases often
the suffix -ar is used. Examples:

ploj “flower” > plojar “flower salesman”

muzika “music” > muzikar “musician”
huj “sheep” > hujar “shephard”

In loanwords the suffix -ist can be used, to indicate a follower of an idealogy or

someone with a certain profession. Examples:

socjalist “socialist”
artist “artist”
The last category I feel should be mentioned, are the inhabitants of a country, a
region, or a city. In English, those words are formed with suffixes like -an, -ese, -er. In
Hattic, the most frequently used suffix is -an; in some cases only the root is used, or
the root with the suffix -ak. Examples:

Rusia “Russia” > Rusan “Russian” (Rus, or even Rusel, has a rather pejorative
connotation)
à glia “England” > à glan “Englishman”
Evropa “Europe” > Evropan “European”
Bazor-Hel > Helan “inhabitant of Bazor-Hel”
China “China” > Chinak “Chinese”

4. ADJECTIVES

4.1. Position of the adjective

The adjective usually comes first, i.e. before the noun. In more poetic or old-
fashioned constructions it can also be placed after the noun. Also in cases where the
adjective forms a stable unity with the noun, it is often placed after it.

4.2. Declension
root: još
masculine feminine neuter
“good”
singular
nom. jošer joša jošu
gen. jošeš jošaš jošuš
dat. jošej jošaj jošuj
acc. jošĩ jošã jošu
instr. jošes jošis jošud
loc. joši joši joši
dual
nom. jošaf jošaf jošaf
gen. jošuš jošuš jošuš
dat. jošup jošup jošup
acc. jošaf jošaf jošaf
instr. jošmo jošmo jošmo
loc. jošus jošus jošus
plural
 nom. jošeš jošeš joša
gen. jošum jošum jošum
dat. jošpu jošpu jošpu
acc. jošeš jošeš joša
instr. jošmu jošmu jošmu
loc. joššu jošpuj joššu

4.3. Comparative and superlative

The comparative is formed by adding the suffix -ašer to the root of an adjective. The
object of the comparison has the nominative and is preceded by the
word du (“than”).

The superlative is formed by adding the suffix -aster to the root of the adjective. For
example:

Sõs urseš ursnašeš du bärneš, ma ad uler bärnoch ursnaster as šakiš.

“Men are stronger than women, but that female over there is the strongest of all.”

4.4. Adverbs

An adjective can be adverbialized simply by removing the suffix from the root. For
example:

Fafrĩva zõ još? “Did I understand you well?”

4.5. Derivation of adjectives

Adjectives can be derived from verbs, nouns, and other adjectives.

When derived from a verb:

 to indicate a possibility or probability: root + -põder

spächuz “to see” > spächpõder “visible”
frenaz “to understand > frĩpõder “understandable”
tänz “to do” > tämpõder “doable, possible”
 to indicate, that the subject has a tendency toward something: root + -(h)uner
joguz “to speak” > joguner “talkative”
knäruz “to fight, to quarrel” > knäruner “tending to quarrel”
sejchaz “to judge” > sejchuner “prejudiced”

When derived from a noun:

  to indicate an adjectivized noun or a relationship: root + -oker
sejs “people” > sejsoker “people’s, national”
 to indicate that the subject is made of a certain material: root + -(u)zer
ävuš “wood” > ävuzer “wooden”
ehu “glass” > ehuzer “made of glass”
õs “stone” > õsuzer “made of stone”
 to indicate a similarity: root + -(o)tever
gas “cat” > gastever “cat-like”
jušru “water” > jušrotever “watery”
mäsar “mother” > mäsartever “motherly”
 to indicate that the subject is rich or full of something: root + -(o)vler, -veler, -
(o)fler
jana “love” > janovler “loving”
ploj “flower” > plojfler “full of flowers, eloquent”
žãh “weight” > žãfler “heavy, important”
 to indicate a lack of something (English -less): root + -šener
zõm “house” > zõšener “homeless”
jiva “life” > jivžener “lifeless”
bauc “work” > baučener “unemployed”

When derived from another adjective:

 to indicate the opposite (English -un): prefix nä-

sefer “friendly” > näsefer “unfriendly”
šädzuner “safe” > näšädzuner “insecure”
täger “useful” > nätäger “useless”
 to indicate a surfeit (English too, over-): prefix ani-
haker “old” > anihaker “too old”
marer “dirty” > animarer “too dirty”
furjajãver “in love” > anifurjajãver “deeply in love”
 to strengthen its meaning: root + -ocher
dzälder “ugly” > dzäldocher “extremely ugly”
õsuder “boring” > õsudocher “extremely boring”
ozer “big, large” > ozocher “enormous”
 to weaken its meaning: root + -aler
dzäler “orange” > dzälaler “orangeish”
chaferšer “difficult” > chaferšaler “a bit difficult”
hälsãder “strange” > hälsãdaler “slightly strange”
 5. PRONOUNS

5.1. Table of correlatives

question this that some any no every
adjective hazer sasker “such” hazerfe hazerna nazer šaker
“this” “some” “any” “no” “every”
person hir hirfe hirna nir šasiš
“who” “someone” “anyone” “nobody “everyone”
kir/kja/ ”
uler/ula/u
ku
object hu lu “that” hufe huna nahu šak
“this”
“what” “something “anything “nothing “everything
” ” ” ”
quantity gasi sasi “this/that gasina
“how much” “no
much” matter
how
much ”
place gu su sam gufe guna nagu šagu
“where” “here” “there” “somewher “anywher “nowher “everywher
e” e” e” e”
time asra nu azo; zas asrafe asrana nasra mužeš
“when” “now” “then” “ever, “anytime” “never” “always”
sometime”
method him lušre hĩfe himna
“how” “like this/that, in “somehow “anyhow”
this/that way” ”
reason aschu sud skrašud aschufe aschuna
“why” “for this/that
“for some “no
reason, therefore” reason” matter
why”
destinati gun sun usun gunfe “(to) nagun
on “wheret “hereto “thereto” somewhere “(to)
o” ” ” nowhere
”
source hana sana usana hanafe hanana
“whenc “hence “thence” “from “from
e” ” somewhere anywhere
” ”
route is sis usis isfe “along isna
“along “along “along some way” “along
which this that way” any way”
way” way”

5.2. Personal pronouns

person 1st 2nd 3rd masc. 3rd fem. 3rd neut.
singular
nom. af zu šu ša šun
gen. muš zeš soš saš suš
dat. moj zuj soj saj suj
acc. mõ zõ sõ sã šun
instr. mud zud sod sis šud
loc. mi zuj soj ši suj
dual
nom. uj ju suj saf saf
gen. nuš uš sauš sauš sauš
dat. nup up saup saup saup
acc. naf uf sau sau sau
instr. numo umo saumo saumo saumo
loc. nus us saus saus saus
plural
nom. vaj juš seš saš ša
gen. näš uš sum sam sum
dat. näpu ušpu spu sapu supu
acc. õš uš sõš sãš ša
instr. näjmu ujmu smu samu sumu
loc. näšu ušu sošu sapuj sušu

5.3. Possessive pronouns

singular dual plural
umner,
mur, ma, nur, nua,
1st person umna,
mu nu
umnu
2nd zur, zva, ušer, uša,
ur, ua, u
person zu ušu
3rd sover,
šor, šoja, sojer,
person, sova,
šoju soja, soju
masc. sovu
3rd šar, šaja, saver, sajer,
 person, šaju sava, savu saja, saju
fem.
3rd
šur, šuja, suver, sujer,
person,
šuju suva, suvu suja, suju
neut.

Declined like normal adjectives are: all plural forms, all dual forms of the 3rd person,
and the female and neuter forms of all singular persons and of the dual 1st en 2nd
person. Mur, zur, šor, šar, šur, nur, and ur are irregular:

1st sg. 3rd sg.m. 3rd sg.f. 3rd sg.n.

singular
nom. mur* šor šar šur
gen. muš šoš šaš šuš
dat. muj šoj ši šuj
acc. mõ šõ šã šõ
instr. mud šod šad šud
loc. muj šoj šaj šuj
* zur, nur, and ur are declined like mur.

5.4. Reflexive pronoun

The reflexive pronoun is sfoš “myself, yourself, ourself, him-/her-/itself”. It has no

gender and no nominative.

(does not
nom.
exist)
gen.
sfoš
dat.
sfoj
acc.
sfoš
instr.
sfod
loc.
sfoj

5.5. Reciprocal pronoun

The two reciprocal pronouns are: halneš “each other” and halner “each
other’s”. Halner is inflected like a regular adjective.

5.6. Demonstrative pronouns

Hattic knows two categories of demonstrative pronouns: kir for persons or objects
close to the speaker (“this, over here”), uler for persons or object further away (“that,
over there”).

The first category of demonstrative pronouns, kir and its forms, are also used as
relative pronouns.

kir “this” uler “that”

masc. fem. neut. masc. fem. neut.
singular
nom. kir kja ku uler ula ulu
gen. siš säš suš uleš ulaš uluš
dat. si säj si ulej ulaj uluj
acc. sã sã ku ulĩ ulã ulu
instr. sid sis sud ulud ulis ulud
loc. si si si uli uli uli
dual
nom./acc. saf saf saf ulaf ulaf ulaf
gen. suš suš suš uluš uluš uluš
dat. sip säp sup ulp ulp ulp
instr. smo smo smo ulmo ulmo ulmo
loc. sus sus sus ulus ulus ulus
plural
nom./acc. siš säš sa uleš ulaš ula
gen. sim säm sum ulum ulum ulum
dat. spu spu spu ulpu ulpu ulpu
instr. smu smu smu ulmu ulmu ulmu
loc. sišu spuj sušu ulšu ulpuj ulšu

5.7. Interrogative pronouns

who? what?
nom. hir hu
gen. hiš huš
dat. hi huj
acc. hĩ hu
instr. hid hud
loc. hi huj

6. VERBS
 6.1. General

Hattic has a rich inflectional system. There are four moods (indicative, conjunctive,
conditional, and imperative), three tenses (present, imperfect, and future), three
numbers (singular, dual, plural), and three persons. There is no pluperfect; its role is
taken over by the perfect tense. Besides, there are the active voice and the passive
voice.

Like in Ancient Greek and Sanskrit, the past tense is made by adding an augment,
and the perfect tense by reduplication. It can be said, that Hattic has one of the most
conservative verbal systems of the whole Indo-European family.

6.2. Conjugation
I: -az II: -uz III: -iz
Conjugation
active passive active passive active passive
pãtarzi janurzi zemiz zemirzi
pãtaz januz
INFINITIVE “to be “to be “to “to be
“to bind” “to love”
bound” loved” punish” punished”
pãtã pãtar janaf janur zemõ zemir
pãtaš pãtašer januš janušer zemiš zemišer
pãtad pãtader janud januder zemid zemider
pãtaus pãtaur janaus janaur zemaus zemaur
PRESENT pãtasaf pãtaser janusaf januser zemisaf zemiser
pãtadaf pãtadar janudaf janudar zemidaf zemidar
pãtama pãtamar januma janumar zemima zemimar
pãtace pãtacer januce janucer zemice zemicer
pãtõs pãtard janãs janurd zemĩs zemird
apãtam apãtar ajanam ajanar azemam azemar
apãtaš apãtašer ajanaš ajanašer azema azemašer
apãtad apãtader ajanad ajanader azemad azemader
apãtäf apãtär ajanäf ajanär azemäf azemär
IMPERFECT apãtase apãtasär ajanase ajanasär azemase azemasär
apãtade apãtadär ajanade ajanadär azemade azemadär
apãtamäf apãtamär ajanamäf ajanamär azemamäf azemamär
apãtace apãtacer ajanace ajanacer azemace azemacer
apãtãs apãtãder ajanãs ajanãder azemãs azemãder
papãtava papãtarmi jajãva jajãrmi zezemiva zezemirmi
papãtada papãtardi jajãda jajãrdi zezemida zezemirdi
PERFECT papãtu papãtavri jajanu jajãvri zezemi zezemivri
papãtame papãtamär jajãme jajãmär zezemime zezemimär
papãtace papãtasär jajãce jajãsär zezemice zezemisär
 papãtade papãtadär jajãde jajãdär zezemide zezemide
papãtavum papãtamsär jajãvum jajãmsär zezemivum zezemimsär
papãtaveš papãtarcär jajãveš jajãrcär zezemiveš zezemircär
papãtaver papãtavrid jajãver jajãvrid zezemiver zezemivrid
pãto pãtor jano janor zemo zemor
pãtoš pãtošer janoš janošer zemoš zemošer
pãtod pãtoder janod janoder zemod zemoder
pãtos pãtour janos janour zemos zemour
CONJUNCTIVE pãtose pãtoser janose janoser zemose zemoser
pãtode pãtoder janode janoder zemode zemoder
pãtome pãtomer janome janomer zemome zemomer
pãtoce pãtocer janoce janocer zemoce zemocer
pãtõs pãtord janõs janord zemõs zemord
pãci pãcir jãsi jãsir zĩsi zĩsir
pãciš pãcišer jãsiš jãsišer zĩsiš zĩsišer
pãcid pãcider jãsid jãsider zĩsid zĩsider
pãcius pãciur jãsius jãsiur zĩsius zĩsiur
FUTURE pãcisaf pãciser jãsisaf jãsiser zĩsisaf zĩsiser
pãcidaf pãcidar jãsidaf jãsidar zĩsidaf zĩsidar
pãcima pãcimar jãsima jãsimar zĩsima zĩsimar
pãcice pãcicer jãsice jãsicer zĩsice zĩsicer
pãcĩs pãcird jãsĩs jãsird zĩcĩs zĩsird
papãca papãcarmi jajãsa jajãsarmi zezĩsa zezĩsarmi
papãcda papãcardi jajãsda jajãsardi zezĩsda zezĩsardi
papãsu papãcar jajãsu jajãsar zezĩsu zezĩsar
papãsme papãcmär jajãsme jajãsmär zezĩsme zezĩsmär
CONDITIONAL papãce papãcär jajãse jajãsär zezĩse zezĩsär
papãcde papãcdär jajãsde jajãsdär zezĩsde zezĩsdär
papãcam papãcmär jajãsam jajãsmär zezĩsam zezĩsmär
papãcaš papãccär jajãsaš jajãscär zezĩsaš zezĩscär
papãcar papãcrid jajãsar jajãsrid zezĩsar zezĩsrid
pãt janu zem
IMPERATIVE pãtas janus zemis
pãtac januc zemic
PART. PRES. pãtãder janunder zemĩder
PART. PERF. papãdver jajãver zezĩver
PART. FUT.
pãcrer jãsrer zĩsrer
(GERUND)

The perfect and conditional tenses are characterized by reduplication. It is created by

adding to a word the first consonant and the first vowel of its root as a prefix. When
the first consonant is an affricate (c, dz, č, dž) only the first of its two constituting
sounds remains (t or d). For the vowel it should be noted,
that ã and ä become a, i and ĩ become e, and õ becomes o. Examples:

kcaguz “to try” > kakcagva “I have tried”

vuornaz “to desire” > vuvuornava “I have desired”
šläfonaz “to crawl” > šašläfonava “I have crawled”
stõpaz “to stop” > sostõbva “I have stopped”
cälchuz “to put on” > tacälchva “I have put on”
čõfuz “to predict” > točõvva “I have predicted”
dzäjmuz “to freeze” > dadzäjmva “I have frozen”
šfĩzuz “to sacrificed” > šešfĩzva “I have sacrificed”

When the first letter of a verb is a vowel, then instead of reduplication h- is added as
a prefix:

äfaz “to weave” > häfava “I have woven”

ãbuz “to hold” > hãbva “I have held”
eguz “to drink” > hegva “I have drunk”
iriz “to worry” > hiriva “I have worried”

As can be seen in some of the examples above, the verbal root is sometimes affected
by inflexion.

When the last consonant or consonant cluster of a verbal root is unvoiced, it becomes
voiced before the voiced perfect markers -va, -da etc. in the second and third
conjugation. Likewise, if the root ends in a voiced consonant or consonant cluster, it
becomes unvoiced in the future and conditional tenses through assimilation with the
tense marker -s-.

6.3. Irregular verbs

Twelve verbs are irregular: jãz “be”, võz “have,

must”, az “go”, tãz “go”, džãz “know”, vahãz “hit”, flãz “can”, jiz “know”, tänz “do
”, joloz “want”, lauz “say”, and zaz “give”. Their conjugation is given below; for
reasons of space only the active forms and the participles are given.

Vahãz and džãz are conjugated like tãz.

jiz
jãz võz az tãz flãz joloz tänz lauz zaz
“kno
“be” “have” “go” “go” “can” “want” “do” “say” “give”
w”
Infinitive jãz võz az tãz flãz jiz joloz tänz lauz zaz
ã võ af tã flã jaf jolõ taf laf zõ
aš võš aš taš flãš jiš jološ tänaš laš zaš
ad võd ad tad flãd jid jolod tĩd lad zad
flänau
ašaus vonaus asaus taus jisaus jolaus tänaus lakaus zavaus
s
Present ašaf võsaf asaf tãsaf jisaf jolaf tänaf lakaf zasaf
flãsaf
ašdaf võdaf adaf tãdaf jisdaf joldaf tĩdaf ladaf zadaf
flãdaf
ašma võma ama tama flãma jima jolma täma lama zama
ašce võce ace tace flãce jisce jolce täce lace zace
sõs vodõs õs tõs flänõs jisõs jolõs tänõs lakãs zavõs
apum avõm avam atam afläm ajim ajolam atäm alam azam
apuš avõš avaš ataš afläš ajiš ajolaš atäš alãš azaš
apud avõd avad atad afläd ajid ajolad atäd alãd azad
apuf avõf aväf atäf afläf ajif ajoläf atäf alĩf azäf
apuse avõse avase atase afläse ajise ajolse atäse alãse azase
Imperfect
apude avõde avade atade afläde ajide ajolde atäde alãde azade
apum avomä avamä atamä aflämä ajimä ajolmä azamä
atämäf alamäf
äf f f f f f f f
atäce alãce
apuce avõce aface atace afläce ajice ajolce azace
atanĩs alãs
apõs avõs avãs atãs aflãs ajisõs ajolãs azãs
jajäva võva vava tatãva faflãva jejiva jojolva tatĩva lalva zazava
jajäda vovõda vavada tatãda faflãda jejida jojolda tatĩda lalda zazada
jajä vovõ vanu tatanu faflänu jejisu jojolu tatänu lalu zazavu
vovõm
jajäm vavam tatãm faflãm jojolm zazam
e jejime tatĩme lalme
e e e e e e
vovõse jejise tatĩse lalse
jajäse vavase tatãse faflãse jojolse zazase
vovõd jejide tatĩde lalde
Perfect jajäde vavade tatãde faflãde jojolde zazade
e
tatãvu faflãvu jojolvu zazavu
jejivu
vovõm m m m m
jajäm vavum m tatĩvum lalvum
vovõš tatãve faflãve jojolve zazave
jajäš vaveš jejive tatĩveš lalveš
vovone š š š š
jajär vader š tatĩver lalver
r tatãve faflãve jojolve zazave
jejiver
r r r r
pau vo ado to fläno jiso jolo täno lo zavo
pauš voš adõš toš floš jisoš jološ tänoš loš zavoš
paud vod adod tod flod jisod jolod tänod lod zavod
Conjuncti jisos zavos
paus vos ados tos flos jolos tänos los
ve jisose zavose
pause vose adose tose flose joloce tänose lose
jisod zavod
paude vode adode tode flode jolode tänode lode
e e
paum vome adome tome flome jisom jolome tänom lome zavom
 e voce adoce toce floce e joloce e loce e
pauce võs adõs tõs flõs jisoc jolõs tänoce lõs zavoce
põs e tänõs zavõs
jisõs
si võsi asi tãsi flãsi jisi jolsi tänsi laksi zasi
siš võsiš asiš tãsiš flãsiš jisiš jolsiš tänsiš laksiš zasiš
sid võsid asid tãsid flãsid jisid jolsid tânsid laksid zasid
tãsius flãsius jolsius tänsius laksius
võsius jisius zasius
sius asius tãsisa flãsisa jolsisa tänsisa laksisa
võsisaf jisisaf zasisaf
sisäf asisaf f f f f f
Future võsida jisida zasida
sidäf asidaf tãsida flãsida jolsida tänsida laksida
f f f
f f f f f
tãsim flãsim jolsim tänsim laksim
sima võsima asima jisima zasima
a a a a a
sice võsice asice jisice zasice
tãsice flãsice jolsice tänsice laksice
sĩs võsĩs asĩs jisĩs zasĩs
tãsĩs flãsĩs jolsĩs tänsĩs laksĩs
jäjãsa vovõsa vavasa tatãsa faflãsa jejisa jojolsa tatänsa lalaksa
zazasa
jäjãsd vovõsd vavasd tatãsd faflãsd jejisd jojolsd tatänsd lalagz
zazada
a a a a a a a a da
zazasu
jäjãsu vovõsu vavasu tatãsu faflãsu jejisu jojolsu tatänsu lalaksu
jäjãs vovõs vavas tatãs faflãs jejism jojols tatäns lalaks zazas
me me me me me e me me me me
jäjãse vovõse vavase tatãse faflãse jejise jojolse tatänse lalakse zazase
Conditio
jäjãsd vovõsd vavasd tatãsd faflãsd jejisd jojolsd tatänsd lalagz zazasd
nal
e e e e e e e e de e
jäjãsa vovõsa vavasa tatãsa faflãsa jojolsa tatänsa lalaksa zazasa
jejisa
m m m m m m m m m
m
jäjãsa vovõsa vavasa tatãsa faflãsa jojolsa tatänsa lalaksa zazasa
jejisa
š š š š š š š š š
š
jäjãsa vovõsa vavasa tatãsa faflãsa jojolsa tatänsa lalaksa zazasa
jejisar
r r r r r r r r r
pu vu vaj taj – jej – tän lak zãs
Imperativ
pus võs vas tas – jis – tĩs las zas
e
puc võc vac tac – jic – tänc lac zac
Part.pres jisõd jolõde zavãd
sõder võder ader tõder flõder tĩder lãder
. er r er
faflãve jojolve zazave
Part.perf. – – – – – tatĩver lalver
r r r
(sõse
Gerund – – – flãsrer – – tãrer lakser zasrer
r)

6.4. Derivation of verbs

Many verbs are created by adding a prefix; the majority of those prefixes are
prepositions or derivations of prepositions. Thus we have: af- “away, off”, as-
“out”, az- “for”, ãch- “to”, ãsar- “between”, än- “in”, bär- “near”, chma-
“along”, dar- “through”, fašchu- “behind”, fo- “after”, fros- “against”, fur- “in front
of”, häl- “around”, ĩtr(e)- “under”, jel- “back”, jufar- “across”, šla- “with”, šufar-
“over”, uf- “up, on”, vaj- “in two, into pieces”, vjä- “above”, zo- “to”.

7. NUMERALS

cardinal ordinal
0 nol nolder
1 sum burmer
2 zuf under
3 dreš duder
4 hedre hedurder
5 bãh bãder
6 sfeš sfeder
7 sem sĩder
8 oguf oguer
9 anun anener
10 zahm zãder
11 sumhazã sumhazãder
12 zuvazã zuvazãder
13 drahazã drahazãder
14 hedrazã hedrazãder
15 bãhazã bãhazãder
16 sfešazã sfešazãder
17 semazã semazãder
18 oguvazã oguvazãder
19 anunazã anunazãder
20 ugem ugĩder
 ugum ha ugum ha
21
sum burmer
30 drimet drĩder
40 hedermet hederĩder
50 bãvemet bãvĩder
60 sfešmet sfešĩder
70 semmet semĩder
80 ogmet ogĩder
90 anumet anunder
100 gumt (*) gumter (*)
200 zugum zugumter
300 drigum drigumter
400 hedergum hedergumter
500 bãgum bãgumter
600 sfešgum sfešgumter
700 semgum semgumter
800 ogugum ogugumter
900 anõgum anõgumter
1000 dugmet dugmĩder
1000000 miljon miljõder

(*) In West-Hattic dialects “gumt” and “gumter” are usually pronounced [gumpe]
and [gumper].

8. PREPOSITIONS

8.1. With the genitive

The following prepositions are followed by the genitive case:

af “from”
as “from, of”
aszõ “outside”
änzõ “inside”
chma “along”
fo “after”
hälchu “around”
läma “according to”
ochi “among”
šän “without”

8.2. With the dative

The following prepositions are followed by the dative case:

az “for”
ãch “to, towards”
fros “against”
zo “to, till”

8.3. With the accusative

Two prepositions have the accusative case:

darš “through”
jufar “over”

8.4. With the instrumental

Two other prepositions have the instrumenal case:

šla “with”
zraf “through, by”

8.5. With the locative

Only one preposition is followed by the locative case:

bär “near, by”

8.6. With the dative and the locative

Most prepositions that describe a place can have both the dative and the locative
case. The latter indicates a stable position, while the dative indicates a direction
toward something. Thus:

ãsar “between”
än “(with dative) into”, “(with locative) in”
fašchu “behind”
fur “in front of”
gara “next to”
ĩtre “under”
šufar “above”
uf “(with dative) onto”, “(with locative) on”
vjä “above”

9. SYNTAX

9.1. Word order

In theory, word order is free in Hattic. In contemporary speech, however, VSO

(verb-subject-object) is most common, to such a degree, that any deviation would
sound at least strange to Hattic ears. Only in poetry is free word order still widely
used.

Other word forms, like adverbs, can be placed freely within the frames of VSO word
order as long as the verb and the subject are not separated from each other. For
example, the sentence “Yesterday Ivan has bought a green parrot for his girl friend”
can be translated into Hattic in different ways:

Hãsu gugurju Ivan az šojaj sefaj dzälã papugã.

Hãsu gugurju Ivan dzälã papugã az šojaj sefaj.
Gugurju Ivan az šojaj sefaj dzälã papugã hãsu.
Gugurju Ivan hãsu az šojaj sefaj dzälã papugã.

Stress can be achieved either by intonation, or by moving the word(s) to be stressed

to the end of the sentence, without affecting VSO word order. In the first and fourth
sentence of the example above, the parrot is the most important piece of information.
In the second sentence, it is Ivan's girl friend draws the attention, while in the third
sentence the listener's attention should be attracted mostly to the fact, that it
happened yesterday.
Personal pronouns are not at all excluded from the VSO rule: nominative personal
pronouns are placed after the verb. It must be noted, however, that according to the
speaker’s taste, they can as well be omitted, since the meaning is clear from the
verbal form anyway. The first person singular af is only used when the speaker
wishes to give it a very special stress. For example:

Janaf zõ. “I love you.”

Januš zu mõ / Januš mõ. “You love me.”
Tatãva nä af zõ papugã, ma zur janak. “Not I killed your parrot, your lover did.”

Adjectives are usually placed before a noun. This applies to genitives as well:

Ad maš sefaš papugaj dzäler. “My girl friend's parrot is green.”

9.2. Questions

Simple questions are made by a change of intonation:

Januš zu mõ? “Do you love me?”

Interrogative pronouns are almost always placed at the beginning of a sentence, thus
breaking VSO rule:

Hir tatãva umnĩ papugã? “Who killed our parrot?”

Hu gugurda zu az zvaj sefaj? “What did you buy for your girl friend?”