Language
Mireavovish language was spoken by the people in the country of Mireavov. This tiny country, which existed a long time ago, disappeared together with all the other countries, when the world united into one Empire. Nevertheless the Mireavovish language, which used to be spoken throughout the world, had become the official language of the united Empire. Other languages, which used to be spoken in the past, were eventually abandoned by the people, who sough solidarity by sharing one common language.
The Mireavovish language is eerily similar to the English language, however there are quite a number of differences between Mireavovish and English, which will be listed on this page.
Vocabulary
The list of unique vocabulary used throughout the tale of Antidotum can be found here:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1SGYNvPoSaMsc3sveImdS-jmLQVtLct3s0CnV3vTXXhw/edit?usp=sharingMost of Mireavovish spelling is similar to US English, but below words are spelled like in UK English:
~ cancelled, travelled, marvelled, labelled, etc.
~ cancelling, travelling, marvelling, labelling, etc.
~ traveller
~ moustache
~ grey
~ omelette
~ to practice, practiced, practicing, etc.Some Mireavovish words have archaic spelling, such as "pidgeon" instead of "pigeon".
The word "few" doesn't exist in Mireavovish. Sample translations from English to Mireavovish:
~ "few items" in English would be "several items" in Mireavovish
~ "a few items" in English would be "some items" in MireavovishMireavovish prefers clarity over brevity. In other words:
~ "She said that she likes cats." is preferred over "She said she likes cats."
~ "He bought eggs in order to make an omelette." is preferred over "He bought eggs to make an omelette."Mireavovish has more compound words than English. So if you see two words glued together, and you think there should be a space between them, know that this is spelled correctly in Mireavovish.
The contractions in Mireavovish are used by default, whereas non-contractions are a stylistic choice.
Example ⇨ Ain't it nice? Isn't it nice? (Is not it nice?)
Example ⇨ Let's go. (Let us go.)
Example ⇨ I'm not going. (I am not going.)
Example ⇨ He's gonna go. (He is going to go.)
Example ⇨ She's been sick. (She has been sick.)
Example ⇨ They'll come again. (They will come again.)
Example ⇨ You've seen enough. (You have seen enough.)
Example ⇨ She'd come if he cannot make it. (She would come if he can not make it.)
Example ⇨ He'd gone already. (He had gone already.)The following contraction do NOT exist in Mireavovish.
can not ⇨ can't
he/she/it does ⇨ he's, she's, it's
he/she/it did ⇨ he'd, she'd, it'd
(any pronoun) + shall ⇨ I'll, you'll, he'll, she'll, it'll, etc.
Grammar
Nouns
All nouns can be made countable in Mireavovish.
Example ⇨ This notebook is his stuff [singular]. His other stuff [plural] are in his desk.
Example ⇨ This one news is from last week, but here are several news from today.
Example ⇨ I need a sugar for my tea, but there's so many sugars to choose from.
Example ⇨ This furniture is ugly, but those furnitures are so elegant.Most nouns can be made uncountable in Mireavovish.
Example ⇨ Each person brought a cake and a tea. Then they ate cake and drunk tea.
Adjectives
A comma between adjectives is typically omitted if all adjectives are preceded by the noun.
Example ⇨ It was a wide grey two-story building.A comma between adjectives is always added, if all the adjectives are listed after the noun. A comma can be omitted before the conjunction "and".
Example ⇨ The building was wide, grey, and two-story.
Example ⇨ The building was wide, grey and two-story.
Conjunctions
The conjunction "and" is used when the second action starts before the first action ends.
Example ⇨ "I want this one," she said and pointed at the box.The conjunction "while" is used when the first action occurs in the middle of the second action.
Example ⇨ "I want this one," she said while pointing at the box.No conjunction is used when the actions occur simultaneously.
Example ⇨ "I want this one," she said, pointing at the box.The conjunction "then" is used when the actions occur consecutively without overlapping.
Example ⇨ "I want this one," she said then pointed at the box."Who" should be used whenever the clause connects to a person or an animal.
Example ⇨ He's in love with the woman, who works in a coffee shop.
Example ⇨ He saw the squirrel, who stole his keys."Whom" should be used whenever the person or an animal is not a subject of the other clause.
Example ⇨ The woman, whom he loves, works in a coffee shop.
Example ⇨ The squirrel, whom he chased, climbed a tree."Which" should be used whenever the clause connects to an object.
Example ⇨ He found the keys, which were put under the mat.
Example ⇨ The keys, which he found, were rusted."That" should be used whenever the clause connects to a verb.
Example ⇨ I think that Mireavovish is an awesome language.
Example ⇨ She didn't even consider that someone could love her.
Quotation
Upper quotation marks are used to express figurative words and quote spoken words, a.k.a. conversations and speeches. (There is no visual difference between marks used before and after the quote.)
Example ⇨ The story was a "giant".
Example ⇨ She said, "I like cats and books."
Example ⇨ The students said "good morning" when they entered the classroom.Sideway quotation marks are used to quote written words and speech-within-speech.
Example ⇨ The story title is «Antidotum».
Example ⇨ The professor said, "when you enter my classroom, remember to say «good morning»."Single upper quotation marks and apostrophes look exactly the same in Mireavovish. They are used only for contractions and possessive nouns.
Example ⇨ The story wasn't so bad.
Example ⇨ This was my friend's book, and that was my friendess's pen.
Example ⇨ These are men's shirts, and those are shirts' accessories.Single sideway quotation marks are used as greater than or less than symbols.
Example ⇨ courage > fear
Punctuation
Long sentences require a comma separating the clauses.
Example ⇨ He never even considered the possibility, that she could ever tell her friends about his secret.For short sentences a comma between the clauses is optional.
Example ⇨ She said that she liked him. /or/ She said, that she liked him.A hyphen is the same as "em dash" in Mireavovish. It is used to present an alternative wording.
Example ⇨ He opened the red box - the only box without a ribbon.
(Without a hyphen): He opened the red box. He opened the only box without a ribbon.If the alternative wording occurs mid-sentence, it is surrounded by commas.
Example ⇨ The next dessert, my favorite apple pie, tasted better.
(Without a hyphen): The next dessert tasted better. My favorite apple pie tasted better.A colon is used to present a list of options.
Example ⇨ He drew three different shapes: a large circle, a small square, and a long straight line.
Verb Tenses
Unfinished tense - action is ongoing
Example ⇨ He eats lunch.
Example ⇨ A bird is watched by the cat.
Completed tense - action is done
Example ⇨ He ate lunch.
Example ⇨ A bird was watched by the cat.
Unfinished future tense - unstarted action with no specific plans to end it
Example ⇨ He will be eating lunch.
Example ⇨ A bird will be being watched by the cat.
Completed future tense - unstarted action with a definite intention to end it
Example ⇨ He will eat lunch.
Example ⇨ A bird will be watched by the cat.
Unfinished present tense - action started in the past, still ongoing
Example ⇨ He is eating lunch.
Example ⇨ A bird is being watched by the cat.
Completed present tense - action started in the past, now completed
Example ⇨ He has been eating lunch.
Example ⇨ A bird has been being watched by the cat.
Unfinished past tense - action started in the past, ending unknown
Example ⇨ He was eating lunch.
Example ⇨ A bird was being watched by the cat.
Completed past tense - action started in the past, completed in the past
Example ⇨ He has eaten lunch.
Example ⇨ A bird has been watched by the cat.
Unfinished pre-past tense - action started before other past actions, still ongoing during other past actions
Example ⇨ He had been eating lunch.
Example ⇨ A bird had been being watched by the cat.
Completed pre-past tense - action started before other past actions, completed before other past actions
Example ⇨ He had eaten lunch.
Example ⇨ A bird had been watched by the cat.
Expressions
Interjections and Exclamations
Green highlight shows when English and Mireavovish usage overlaps.
Blue highlight shows similarities:
- "eh?" is a weak form of disbelief, i.e. surprise; "huh?" is a strong form of surprise, i.e. disbelief.
- "oof" is a relief of a danger that never arrived; "wah" is a strong euphoria of surviving the danger unscathed.Alternative Mireavovish spelling is included in the parentheses under the most common spelling.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Zlss-7K2H2P3ERcA2_DEZMMoFxoRCm2IhmeaXgTiuZ0/edit?usp=sharing
Dialogue Punctuation
Use a comma, if action is done at the same time, when speech occurs.
Example ⇨ "Good morning," she opened the door.
Example ⇨ She opened the door, "good morning."Use a fullstop, if action is done after or before speech occurs.
Example ⇨ "Good morning." She opened the door.
Example ⇨ She opened the door. "Good morning."
Numbers
Unfortunately
there is no font in English that can write Mireavovish numbers, so English symbols are used instead.
Same reading as English
any number between zero and nine hundred ninety nine
Different reading from English
one followed by three zeroes is read as "ten hundred"
example: 4321 = forty three hundred twenty one
one followed by four zeroes is read as "thousand"
example: 54321 =
five thousand forty three hundred twenty one
10'0000 = ten thousand
100'0000 = hundred thousand
1000'0000 = ten hundred thousand
1'0000'0000 = million
In Mireavovish culture, the upside down number 6 is the symbol of death. Showing it to someone means wishing them to die, and it's the most hateful and disrespectful symbol to use.
Because a lot of English fonts are using the upside down number 6, number nine has been removed from most webpages, but when it's in use, only fonts that write it as a circle with a straight line are used.
The number 6 is often written with a tiny loop at the top, so it won't become a symbol of death by accident, if someone happen to look at it from the other direction.
Grammatical usage:
All numbers in Mireavovish are counters, so they don't use articles. Here's a comparison:
Mireavovish: "This fairytale has ten paragraphs, hundred words and thousand letters."
English: "This fairy tale has ten paragraphs, a hundred words and a thousand letters."
Decimal separator (can be either comma or fullstop):
10,5 or 10.5 = ten point five
1'0000,01 or 1'0000.01 = one thousand point zero one
7'6543,2108 or 7'6543.2108 = seven thousand sixty five hundred forty three point two one zero eight
Abbreviations of numbers:
1' = 1'0000 = one thousand
1'' = '10000'0000 = one million
1'5 = 1'5000 = one thousand fifty hundred
1''5 = 1'5000'0000 = one million fifty hundred thousand
Dimensions and measurements:
Add a space between words, but no space between abbreviations.
ten meters, two kilograms, ten by twenty centimeters
10m, 2kg, 10x20cm
Credits Page
Header photo by Marii Siia