Géarthnuns - The Thread

[Khemehekis]

Géarthnuns is becoming another Siu,a. Great job, Lao Kou!

It's such fun to look at all the words and recognize some from the lexicon-building threads. Now I know what all those /ç/'s are supposed to sound like and why all those proper names and other nouns end in -s and everything. I'm glad I clicked onto this thread!

[Lao Kou]

Chí Pungetals - The Dual

Chíkh Sömaut'hakfalsíth Ngkafílíth zhö Gnöingkafílíth - The Definite and Indefinite Articles

The dual definite and indefinite articles are formed by adding the letter lésa to the corresponding singular:

Affirmative Forms:

Code: Select all

Declension                      Definite                                  Indefinite			

Tfömebs				 chöl ngarebsözh - the (two) dogs             söl ngarebsözh - (two) dogs
Shövars			    chaul teshersauzh - the (two) cats           saul teshersauzh - (two) cats 
Spéngets			   chöil papaketsöizh - the (two) babies        söil papaketsöizh - (two) babies
Gwílöns             chal frensazh - the (two) countries          sal frensazh - (two) countries    
Ndöineks				chül rhabaksüzh - the (two) fools            sül rhabaksüzh - (two) fools 
Nrels				   chíl ösfandílsízh - the (two) artists        síl ösfandílsízh - (two) artists		
Fpaukiths           chel förhífathsezh - the (two) dancers       sel förhífathsezh - (two) dancers

Negative Forms:

Code: Select all

Declension			             Definite		                            Indefinite			

Tfömebs				 völ ngarekhsözh - the (two) dogs             föl ngarekhsözh - (two) dogs
Shövars			    vaul teshemsauzh - the (two) cats            faul teshemsauzh - (two) cats 
Spéngets			   vöil papakedhsöizh - the (two) babies        föil papakedhsöizh - (two) babies 
Gwílöns             val frepsazh - the (two) countries           fal frepsazh - (two) countries     
Ndöineks			   vül rhabadsüzh - the (two) fools             fül rhabadsüzh - (two) fools 
Nrels				   víl ösfandífsízh - the (two) artists         fíl ösfandífsízh - (two) artists		
Fpaukiths           vel förhífagsezh - the (two) dancers         fel förhífagsezh - (two) dancers 

N.B.: The affirmative and negative indefinite dual articles may be translated as "two", "a couple/pair of" or not translated at all:

saul teshersauzh - (two) cats, (a couple/pair of) cats
faul teshemsauzh - (two) cats, (a couple/pair of) cats

Chauk Zhahakfalíchorsauch chí Pungetalsín chü Tubílíbdönöks - Formation of Cases in the Dual

Dual forms of the cases are inflected as follows:

Nominative Dual:

citation form + pténíörs + -zh

Examples: affirmative / negative

ngarebs → ngarebsözh → ngarebsözh // ngarekhs → ngarekhsözh → ngarekhsözh - (two) dogs
teshers → teshersauzh → teshersauzh // teshems → teshemsauzh → teshemsauzh - (two) cats

Accusative Dual:

citation form + pténíörs + -m

Examples: affirmative / negative

ngarebs → ngarebsöm → ngarebsöm // ngarekhs → ngarekhsöm → ngarekhsöm - (two) dogs
teshers → teshersaum → teshersaum // teshems → teshemsaum → teshemsaum - (two) cats

Dative Dual:

citation form + pténíörs + -z

Examples: affirmative / negative

ngarebs → ngarebsöz → ngarebsöz // ngarekhs → ngarekhsöz → ngarekhsöz - (two) dogs
teshers → teshersauz → teshersauz // teshems → teshemsauz → teshemsauz - (two) cats

Instrumental Dual:

citation form + pténíörs + -g

Examples: affirmative / negative

ngarebs → ngarebsög → ngarebsög // ngarekhs → ngarekhsög → ngarekhsög - (two) dogs
teshers → teshersaug → teshersaug // teshems → teshemsaug → teshemsaug - (two) cats

Postpositional Dual:

citation form + pténíörs + -kh

Examples: affirmative / negative

ngarebs → ngarebsökh → ngarebsökh // ngarekhs → ngarekhsökh → ngarekhsökh - (two) dogs
teshers → teshersaukh → teshersaukh // teshems → teshemsaukh → teshemsaukh - (two) cats

Genitive Dual:

citation form + pténíörs + -j

Examples: affirmative / negative

ngarebs → ngarebsöj → ngarebsöj // ngarekhs → ngarekhsöj → ngarekhsöj - (two) dogs
teshers → teshersauj → teshersauj // teshems → teshemsauj → teshemsauj - (two) cats

Locative Dual:

citation form + pténíörs + -dh

Examples: affirmative / negative

ngarebs → ngarebsödh → ngarebsödh // ngarekhs → ngarekhsödh → ngarekhsödh - (two) dogs
teshers → teshersaudh → teshersaudh // teshems → teshemsaudh → teshemsaudh - (two) cats

Using the nouns below:

sfabs - stirrup
fsöérs - die
eluts - (formal) shoe
rhens - breast
rhíks - arm
lels - sock
biths - eye

the dual form paradigm looks like this:

Affirmative Dual:

Code: Select all

                     Tfömebs	           Shövars		        Spéngets			     Gwílöns           Ndöineks            Nrels            Fpaukiths

Nominative      chöl/söl sfabsözh  chaul/saul fsöérsauzh  chöil/söil elutsöizh  chal/sal rhensazh  chül/sül rhíksüzh  chíl/síl lelsízh  chel/sel bithsezh    
Accusative      chöl/söl sfabsöm   chaul/saul fsöérsaum   chöil/söil elutsöim   chal/sal rhensam   chül/sül rhíksüm   chíl/síl lelsím   chel/sel bithsem
Dative          chöl/söl sfabsöz   chaul/saul fsöérsauz   chöil/söil elutsöiz   chal/sal rhensaz   chül/sül rhíksüz   chíl/síl lelsíz   chel/sel bithsez
Instrumental    chöl/söl sfabsög   chaul/saul fsöérsaug   chöil/söil elutsöig   chal/sal rhensag   chül/sül rhíksüg   chíl/síl lelsíg   chel/sel bithseg
Postpositional  chöl/söl sfabsökh  chaul/saul fsöérsaukh  chöil/söil elutsöikh  chal/sal rhensakh  chül/sül rhíksükh  chíl/síl lelsíkh  chel/sel bithsekh
Genitive        chöl/söl sfabsöj   chaul/saul fsöérsauj   chöil/söil elutsöij   chal/sal rhensaj   chül/sül rhíksüj   chíl/síl lelsíj   chel/sel blethsej
Locative        chöl/söl sfabsödh  chaul/saul fsöérsaudh  chöil/söil elutsöidh  chal/sal rhensadh  chül/sül rhíksüdh  chíl/síl lelsídh  chel/sel bithsedh

Negative Dual:

Code: Select all

                     Tfömebs	          Shövars		         Spéngets			    Gwílöns          Ndöineks           Nrels          Fpaukiths

Nominative      völ/föl sfakhsözh  vaul/faul fsöémsauzh  vöil/föil eludhsöizh  val/fal rhepsazh  vül/fül rhídsüzh  víl/fíl lefsízh  vel/fel bigsezh 
Accusative      völ/föl sfakhsöm   vaul/faul fsöémsaum   vöil/föil eludhsöim   val/fal rhepsam   vül/fül rhídsüm   víl/fíl lefsím   vel/fel bigsem
Dative          völ/föl sfakhsöz   vaul/faul fsöémsauz   vöil/föil eludhsöiz   val/fal rhepsaz   vül/fül rhídsüz   víl/fíl lefsíz   vel/fel blegsez
Instrumental    völ/föl sfakhsög   vaul/faul fsöémsaug   vöil/föil eludhsöig   val/fal rhepsag   vül/fül rhídsüg   víl/fíl lefsíg   vel/fel bigseg
Postpositional  völ/föl sfakhsökh  vaul/faul fsöémsaukh  vöil/föil eludhsöikh  val/fal rhepsakh  vül/fül rhídsükh  víl/fíl lefsíkh  vel/fel bigsekh
Genitive        völ/föl sfakhsöj   vaul/faul fsöémsauj   vöil/föil eludhsöij   val/fal rhepsaj   vül/fül rhídsüj   víl/fíl lefsíj   vel/fel blegsej
Locative        völ/föl sfakhsödh  vaul/faul fsöémsaudh  vöil/föil eludhsöidh  val/fal rhepsadh  vül/fül rhídsüdh  víl/fíl lefsídh  vel/fel bigsedh

---

As in the singular, affirmative and negative dual pronouns have unmarked citation forms in the nominative. The other cases take the standard dual case endings, with third person pronouns engaging the appropriate pténíörs:

First Person Dual:

Code: Select all

                  Affirmative	   Negative		     
Nominative          trízh           raizh	       			    
Accusative          trízham         raizham
Dative              trízhaz         raizhaz
Instrumental        trízhag         raizhag
Postpositional      trízhakh        raizhakh
Genitive            trízhaj         raizhaj
Locative            trízhadh        raizhadh

Second Person Dual:

Code: Select all

                 Affirmative	    Negative		     
Nominative         skom             dhékh	       			    
Accusative         skomam           dhékhem
Dative             skomaz           dhékhez
Instrumental       skomag           dhékheg
Postpositional     skomakh          dhékhekh
Genitive           skomaj           dhékhej
Locative           skomadh          dhékhedh

Third Person Dual:

Code: Select all

                Tfömebs	       Shövars		       Spéngets	          Gwílöns         Ndöineks        Nrels           Fpaukiths
                Aff./Neg.        Aff./Neg.           Aff./Neg.            Aff./Neg.       Aff./Neg.       Aff./Neg.       Aff./Neg.
Nominative      böb/tökh         baur/taum	        böit/töidh 	       ban/tap         bük/tüd         bíl/tíf         beth/teg			    
Accusative      böböm/tökhöm     bauraum/taumaum	  böitöim/töidhöim     banam/tapam     büküm/tüdüm     bílím/tífím     bethem/tegem   
Dative          böböz/tökhöz     baurauz/taumauz	  böitöiz/töidhöiz 	 banaz/tapaz     büküz/tüdüz     bílíz/tífíz     bethez/tegez
Instrumental    böbög/tökhög     bauraug/taumaug	  böitöig/töidhöig 	 banag/tapag     büküg/tüdüg     bílíg/tífíg     betheg/tegeg
Postpositional  böbökh/tökhökh   bauraukh/taumaukh   böitöid/töidhöikh    banakh/tapakh   bükükh/tüdükh   bílíkh/tífíkh   bethekh/tegekh
Genitive        böböj/tökhöj     baurauj/taumauj	  böitöij/töidhöij     banaj/tapaj     büküj/tüdüj     bílíj/tífíj     bethej/tegej
Locative        böbödh/tökhödh   bauraudh/taumaudh	böitöidh/töidhöidh   banadh/tapadh   büküdh/tüdüdh   bílídh/tífídh   bethedh/tegedh

Chü Hínabdönöks - Usage

1) While the dual is used to mark any noun occurring as a pair or group of two:

chöil sasatsöizh - the (two) women
söil sasatsöizh - (two) women, (a couple/pair of) women

chaul bursauzh - the (two) trees
saul bursauzh - (two) trees, (a couple/pair of) trees

many nouns which can occur in the singular naturally lend themselves to the dual instead of the plural, particularly certain body parts and articles of clothing:

andasouns - twin
insürels - elbow
autmörfpabs - eyebrow
bithköichnöls - eye bag
dairs - ball and chain (sing.); fetters, leg cuffs/irons (dual)
dlírs - stocking
gíns - lens (sing.); glasses (dual)
vwahétlurs - chopstick
pötréls - braid
pöriks - boot
ptöls - gill
pshindiths - cymbal
töngöts - heel
tfíviths - parhelion
savöks - foot
sulíbövíls - oarlock
shöngöths - headlight
shfols - knee
zçairíktubéts - andiron
kfürhibs - mitten
kfísons - (salt or pepper) shaker
zhbenks - eyelid
zhlírs - rein
çörmers - antler

Still other nouns occur only in the dual:

ansazh - scissors
gabansazh - shears
jurusaltédeksüzh - foster parents
vílsízh - pitchfork
vzharöilsízh - tweezers
tédéksüzh - (married) couple, pair
kertsöizh - blacksmith’s tongs
knöselsízh - buttocks, rump
sorsauzh - nail clippers
selethegínsazh - opera/theatre glasses
shfarkínsazh - gum(s), gingiva
ngejökügínsazh - binoculars, field glasses
nülsízh - handcuffs
nlörhégitsöizh - compass, pair of compasses (drafting)
lörmaksüzh - buttocks, rump
chömnuthtédéksüzh - royal couple/pair
helkedalthsezh - day after tomorrow.
hereçkedalthsezh - day before yesterday

2) As the dual number, by definition, indicates "two-ness", the number two is rarely included with nouns in the dual:

Sí la söl dhaubsöm cha helkedínsav tel.
I see (two/a couple of) men over there.

Trízh la chöl ngérhüjebsög cha frensab vamnépö pímath.
We are travelling across the country on our (two) bicycles.

Söb la sa zdídalthezçansat chal andasounsaz dravnath.
He's making the (two) twins a birthday cake.

Sí la saul çörsaum cha mbonsav ven.
I have (two/a couple of) florins in my wallet.

Sí la chö kawabsöt sa fkerensan síl löngölsíg zhö sü íéraksün kalaf.
I would like my coffee with (two) measures of cream and one sugar.

However, the number two may be stated explicitly if a need is felt for clarity, emphasis, or contrast:

Sí la saul çörsaum pungeraum öiü cha mbonsav ven.
I have only two florins in my wallet.

Sí la söl dhaubsöm pungeböm, arzhö fök dhaukhsöch toukhöch, cha helkedínsav tel.
I see two men, not three, over there.

Saul kfedhölísfarsauzh zharíörauzh pungerauzh la chü gefrölímarangíksüb therme miçnakh.
There are two great stone lions in front of the library.

Makhlama la hauí bvérhel: söi ömbíöts síret... söil ömbíötsöizh pungetöizh... söik ömbíötsöip toutöip...
We are counting together: one bird... two birds... three birds...

3) The dual number, like the singular and plural, has no affect on the Géarthnuns verbal complex:

Se nggarhaths la söil skatsöim dimtel.
A sheep is looking at (two/a couple of) horses.

Söil skatsöizh la se nggarhathset dimtel.
A couple of/Two horses are looking at a sheep.

Cha ípwans la chöil höraubanatsöim chö ngérhüjebsös ögaz.
The girl is inflating the tires of her bicycle.

Chöil höraubanatsöizh chö ngérhüjebsös lat cha ípwansan ögaz.
The tires of the bicycle are being inflated by the girl.

Chí vebüthrelsíb içte, chül chömnuthtédéksüzh la chaul zhbéörsauz sesinaplen.
After the disaster, the royal couple are condoling with the (two) parents.

Chí vebüthrelsíb içte, chaul zhbéörsauzh lak chül chömnuthtédéksüg sesinaplen.
?After the disaster, the (two) parents are being condoled with by the royal couple.

Sak Flaivonapwerinsap Sfönap - Other Example Sentences

Síl la síl lelsím chül savöksüdh mímethlan.
He/She is putting socks on his/her feet.

Chí aésíls chal gínsaj hengenaj lat chöi zhnauvötsöin gdhalakh.
DEF frame-NOM DEF.DUAL glasses-GEN.DUAL this-GEN.DUAL AUX.PRES.PASS DEF mother.of.pearl-INSTR be.made
The frames of these glasses are made of mother of pearl.

Saul uzhölersauzh öçkes la cha gerauhöilkansav mal.
INDEF.DUAL slipper-NOM.DUAL 2SG-GEN AUX.PRES DEF front.door-LOC be.located
A pair of your slippers are by the front door.

Öçek la chel bithseg, arzhö val thripsag, ba tel daikh.
2SG-NOM AUX.PRES DEF.DUAL eye-INSTR.PL, but DEF.DUAL.NEG hand-INSTR.DUAL.NEG, PTCL look should
You should look with your eyes, not your hands.

Chí íönsels hengel la sel íönselalöthsem pungethem fsheu spírhön.
DEF game-NOM this-NOM AUX.PRES INDEF.DUAL player-ACC.DUAL two-ACC.DUAL or.more-AdADJ be.meant
This game is for two or more players.

Cha maralans lé sík, gü sí la sal thrinsam höiwéböth sho, ngamath.
DEF mother-NOM AUX.PRES 1SG-DAT, CONJ 1SG-NOM AUX.PRES INDEF.DUAL hand-ACC.DUAL have-DISC PTCL, say
My mother told me that I have hands.

Chük bdiksüp la chíl thfonjilsíg mvöliz.
DEF.PL soldier-NOM.PL AUX.PRES DEF.DUAL stride-INSTR.DUAL march
The soldiers are marching in step.

Chü sheriks la sa flahansat chül bdonsüksüg jnégez.
DEF ant AUX.PRES INDEF flower-ACC DEF.DUAL mandible-INSTR.DUAL carry
The ant is carrying a flower in its mandibles.

Lexember 12, 2014

[Lao Kou]

Zhöshe - Seven

If, at a cocktail party, the gentle reader happens to mention the possible origins of the Géarthçins' preoccupation with the number seven, one will find that s/he has either cleared the room or gotten inextricably sucked into a Möbius strip of a chicken-egg conversation. Did early speakers notice patterns of seven in their language and expand that observation to naturally occurring sevens elsewhere in the world, or did a legendary monarch, smitten by the natural order of sevens he saw around him, inform the language with those insights? Perhaps the diplomatic thing to do is suggest that, as in many things, the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle, and then make haste for the mini spring rolls in the kitchen.

Nevertheless, there is no denying the Géarthçins' fascination with all things seven. If a Géarthçins' attention turns to an already recognized set of seven, natural or man-made, s/he feels a subtle, almost indescribable inner sense of connectedness to all that is well in the universe, and should some discovery of a new grouping of seven be made, there is an internal collective nod among the Géarthçins to yet further confirmation of something one understood as an eternal truth all along. Well, of course -- that's the way it is.

As part of the national mythos, this mindset bleeds consciously and subconsciously into many facets of everyday life. A movie theatre owner has guaranteed box office for revivals of The Magnificent Seven, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, The Seven Samurai, and of course, Se7en. Inviting enough guests for a dinner party of seven is considered good form so that at least one single, divorced, or widowed friend stays active in your coterie. So if Géarthçins eyes should focus on language, one ought not be surprised that seven is considered one of the underpinnings of Géarthnuns. No matter that, as with the Japanese gojūon table, there are gaps or extras that make for less-than-perfect sevens. It's mythos, dammit, play ball! Besides, there are plenty of things which do occur in sevens to keep the magic alive and well, and various monarchs in history, along with the Mörvesma'uls cha Géarthnunsas (Academia Gearthnuntiæ), have done what they thought was their part in nudging the language toward "seven-ness". Great pains are not taken to point out occurrences of seven to gentle readers, now sensitized, so that they may have the "Well, of course -- that's the way it is." experience for themselves. That said, however,...

Chí Zhöshetals - The Septimal

Chíkh Sömaut'hakfalsíth Ngkafílíth zhö Gnöingkafílíth - The Definite and Indefinite Articles

The septimal definite and indefinite articles are formed by adding the letter vaukh to the corresponding singular:

Affirmative Forms:

Code: Select all

Declension                       Definite                                     Indefinite			

Tfömebs				 chökh ngarebsöth - the (seven) dogs             sökh ngarebsöth - (seven) dogs
Shövars			    chaukh teshersauth - the (seven) cats           saukh teshersauth - (seven) cats 
Spéngets			   chöikh papaketsöith - the (seven) babies        söikh papaketsöith - (seven) babies
Gwílöns             chakh frensath - the (seven) countries          sakh frensath - (seven) countries    
Ndöineks				chükh rhabaksüth - the (seven) fools            sükh rhabaksüth - (seven) fools 
Nrels				   chíkh ösfandílsíth - the (seven) artists        síkh ösfandílsíth - (seven) artists		
Fpaukiths           chekh förhífathseth - the (seven) dancers       sekh förhífathseth - (seven) dancers

Negative Forms:

Code: Select all

Declension			              Definite		                               Indefinite			

Tfömebs				 vökh ngarekhsöth - the (seven) dogs             fökh ngarekhsöth - (seven) dogs
Shövars			    vaukh teshemsauth - the (seven) cats            faukh teshemsauth - (seven) cats 
Spéngets			   vöikh papakedhsöith - the (seven) babies        föikh papakedhsöith - (seven) babies 
Gwílöns             vakh frepsath - the (seven) countries           fakh frepsath - (seven) countries     
Ndöineks			   vükh rhabadsüth - the (seven) fools             fükh rhabadsüth - (seven) fools 
Nrels				   víkh ösfandífsíth - the (seven) artists         fíkh ösfandífsíth - (seven) artists		
Fpaukiths           vekh förhífagseth - the (seven) dancers         fekh förhífagseth - (seven) dancers 

N.B.: Although it is theoretically possible that the affirmative and negative indefinite septimal articles might be translated as "seven" or not translated at all:

saukh teshersauth - (seven) cats
faukh teshemsauth - (seven) cats

in practice, unless one has exceptionally keen eyesight to readily identify groups of seven at twenty paces, it is extremely uncommon to use these indefinite articles without explicitly including the number "seven":

saukh teshersauth zhösherauth - seven cats
faukh teshemsauth zhöshemauth - seven cats

Chauk Zhahakfalíchorsauch chí Zhöshetalsín chü Tubílíbdönöks - Formation of Cases in the Septimal

The septimal is defective, with distinct forms only in the nominative and accusative, inflected as follows:

Nominative Septimal:

citation form + pténíörs + -th

Examples: affirmative / negative

ngarebs → ngarebsöth → ngarebsöth // ngarekhs → ngarekhsöth → ngarekhsöth - (seven) dogs
teshers → teshersauth → teshersauth // teshems → teshemsauth → teshemsauth - (seven) cats

Accusative Septimal:

citation form + pténíörs + -r

Examples: affirmative / negative

ngarebs → ngarebsör → ngarebsör // ngarekhs → ngarekhsör → ngarekhsör - (seven) dogs
teshers → teshersaur → teshersaur // teshems → teshemsaur → teshemsaur - (seven) cats

As a result, using the nouns below:

shadnöbs - dwarf
akírs - hill
zhakuts - wife
sfans - art
dvernauks - continent
hanguls - nation
aiths - circle

the "full" septimal paradigm looks like this:

Affirmative Septimal:

Code: Select all

             Tfömebs	             Shövars		          Spéngets			       Gwílöns              Ndöineks                Nrels                Fpaukiths

Nom.   chökh/sökh shadnöbsöth chaukh/saukh akírsauth chöikh/söikh zhakutsöith chakh/sakh sfansath chükh/sükh dvernauksüth chíkh/síkh hangulsíth chekh/sekh aithseth    
Acc.   chökh/sökh shadnöbsör  chaukh/saukh akírsaur  chöikh/söikh zhakutsöir  chakh/sakh sfansar  chükh/sükh dvernauksür  chíkh/síkh hangulsír  chekh/sekh aithser
Dat.   chök/sök shadnöbsöl    chauk/sauk akírsaul    chöik/söik zhakutsöil    chak/sak sfansal    chük/sük dvernauksül    chík/sík hangulsíl    chek/sek aithsel
Instr. chök/sök shadnöbsöf    chauk/sauk akírsauf    chöik/söik zhakutsöif    chak/sak sfansaf    chük/sük dvernauksüf    chík/sík hangulsíf    chek/sek aithsef
Post.  chök/sök shadnöbsöd    chaul/saul akírsaud    chöik/söik zhakutsöid    chak/sak sfansad    chük/sük dvernauksüd    chík/sík hangulsíd    chek/sek aithsed
Gen.   chök/sök shadnöbsöng   chauk/sauk akírsaung   chöik/söik zhakutsöing   chak/sak sfansang   chük/sük dvernauksüng   chík/sík hangulsíng   chek/sek aithseng
Loc.   chök/sök shadnöbsösh   chauk/sauk akírsaush   chöik/söik zhakutsöish   chak/sak sfansash   chük/sük dvernauksüsh   chík/sík hangulsísh   chek/sek aithsesh

Negative Septimal:

Code: Select all

               Tfömebs	              Shövars		           Spéngets			       Gwílöns              Ndöineks                 Nrels              Fpaukiths

Nom.      vökh/fökh shadnökhsöth  vaukh/faukh akímsauth  vöikh/föikh zhakudhsöith  vakh/fakh sfapsath  vükh/fükh dvernaudsüth  víkh/fíkh hangufsíth  vekh/fekh aigseth 
Acc.      vökh/fökh shadnökhsör   vaukh/faukh akímsaur   vöikh/föikh zhakudhsöir   vakh/fakh sfapsar   vükh/fükh dvernaudsür   víkh/fíkh hangufsír   vekh/fekh aigser
Dat.      vök/fök shadnökhsöl     vauk/fauk akímsaul     vöik/föik zhakudhsöil     vak/fak sfapsal     vük/fük dvernaudsül     vík/fík hangufsíl     vek/fek aigsel
Instr.    vök/fök shadnökhsöf     vauk/fauk akímsauf     vöik/föik zhakudhsöif     vak/fak sfapsaf     vük/fük dvernaudsüf     vík/fík hangufsíf     vek/fek aigsef
Post.     vök/fök shadnökhsöd     vauk/fauk akímsaud     vöik/föik zhakudhsöid     vak/fak sfapsad     vük/fük dvernaudsüd     vík/fík hangufsíd     vek/fek aigsed
Gen.      vök/fök shadnökhsöng    vauk/fauk akímsaung    vöik/föik zhakudhsöing    vak/fak sfapsang    vük/fük dvernaudsüng    vík/fík hangufsíng    vek/fek aigseng
Loc.      vök/fök shadnökhsösh    vauk/fauk akímsaush    vöik/föik zhakudhsöish    vak/fak sfapsash    vük/fük dvernaudsüsh    vík/fík hangufsídh    vek/fek aigsesh

---

As in the singular, dual, and plural, affirmative and negative septimal pronouns have unmarked citation forms in the nominative; accusative forms end in -r, with third person pronouns engaging the appropriate pténíörs. For cases other than the nominative and the accusative, the standard plural forms are used:

First Person Septimal:

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                  Affirmative	   Negative		     
Nominative         aurin           közeth	       			    
Accusative         aurinar         közethar
Dative             makhlamal       pantalal
Instrumental       makhlamaf       pantalaf
Postpositional     makhlamad       pantalad
Genitive           makhlamang      pantalang
Locative           mahlamash       pantalash

Second Person Septimal:

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                 Affirmative	    Negative		     
Nominative         wöij             vla	       			    
Accusative         wöijar           vlar
Dative             kfazhal          héshel
Instrumental       kfazhaf          héshef
Postpositional     kfazhad          héshed
Genitive           kfazhang         hésheng
Locative           kfazhash         héshesh

Third Person Septimal:

Code: Select all

                Tfömebs	         Shövars		         Spéngets	            Gwílöns           Ndöineks          Nrels             Fpaukiths
                Aff./Neg.          Aff./Neg.             Aff./Neg.              Aff./Neg.         Aff./Neg.         Aff./Neg.         Aff./Neg.
Nominative      zçöb/thökh         zçaur/thaum	        zçöit/thöidh 	       zçan/thap         zçük/thüd         zçíl/thíf         zçeth/theg			    
Accusative      zçöbör/thökhör     zçauraur/thaumaur	  zçöitöir/thöidhöir     zçanar/thapar     zçükür/thüdür     zçílír/thífír     zçether/theger   
Dative          rhöböl/ngökhöl     rhauraul/ngaumaul	  rhöitöil/ngöidhöil 	 rhanal/ngapal     rhükül/ngüdül     rhílíl/ngífíl     rhethel/ngegel
Instrumental    rhöböf/ngökhöf     rhaurauf/ngaumauf	  rhöitöif/ngöidhöif 	 rhanaf/ngapaf     rhüküf/ngüdüf     rhílíf/ngífíf     rhethef/ngegef
Postpositional  rhöböd/ngökhöd     rhauraud/ngaumaud	  rhöitöid/ngöidhöid     rhanad/ngapad     rhüküd/ngüdüd     rhílíd/ngífíd     rhethed/ngeged
Genitive        rhöböng/ngökhöng   rhauraung/ngaumaung	rhöitöing/ngöidhöing   rhanang/ngapang   rhüküng/ngüdüng   rhílíng/ngífíng   rhetheng/ngegeng
Locative        rhöbösh/ngökhösh   rhauraush/ngaumaush	rhöitöish/ngöidhöish   rhanash/ngapash   rhüküsh/ngüdüsh   rhílísh/ngífísh   rhethesh/ngegesh

Chü Hínabdönöks - Usage

1) While the septimal can be used to mark any noun occurring as a group of seven:

chöikh sasatsöith - the (seven) women
söikh sasatsöith zhöshetöith - seven women

chaukh bursauth - the (seven) trees
saukh bursauth zhösherauth - seven trees

its principal usage deals with nouns which indicate well-known groups of seven:

chíkh jüfölsíth chí ensevrelsís - the colors of the rainbow
chekh dalthseth cha thlünsas - the days of the week
chíkh Ngaftalsíth chö Öbelöbsös - the Wonders of the World
chekh Héthalöthseth (Éfesausarsaus) - the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus
chíkh Hangulsíth Zharíölíth - the G7 Nations
chökh Shadnöbsöth - the Seven Dwarves
chakh Haransath - the Seven Seas
chakh sfansath techetnekenath - the fine arts
chakh sfansath shmaiönath - the liberal arts
chakh sfansath seuglönath - the forbidden arts
chakh sfansath shpínökenath - the mechanical arts

A noun occuring only in the septimal:

enseölsíth - funfair

2) The septimal number, by definition, indicates "seven-ness", however, as has been mentioned earlier, the number "seven" is usually included with nouns in the septimal with an indefinite article:

Saukh teshersauth zhösherauth la chö béöbsöv helkeböv miçnakh.
There are seven cats in that house.

Söikh hatsöith zhöshetöith la sökh desíöbsör (zhöshebör)* azh.
Seven brides are marrying (seven) brothers.
*As "seven" was mentioned earlier in the sentence and monogamy is assumed, the second "seven" is optional.

Sí la sökh dhaubsör zhöshebör cha helkedínsav tel.
I see seven men over there.

Sí la saukh çörsaur zhösheraur cha mbonsav ven.
I have seven florins in my wallet.

Makhlama la hauí bvérhel: söik ömbíötsöip rhaletöip... söikh ömbíötsöith zhöshetöith... söik ömbíötsöip bésetöip...
We are counting together: six birds... seven birds... eight birds...

N.B.: Since these are not well-known groupings of seven, plural forms are quietly tolerated in sentences like these, but the septimal forms are "strongly encouraged" in the educational system, particularly in writing. Most educated speakers, therefore, prefer the septimal on stylistic grounds, but the plural here is not considered a major grammatical gaffe, albeit rather less refined.

With the definite article, depending on how well known the referent is in the opinion of the speaker, the number seven may be stated explicitly if a need is felt to initially establish the grouping for the listener, or for clarity, emphasis, or contrast:

Chakh Kfainsath Zhöshenath la saukh latursauth söi kfardetsöin höi chöik Pléíadéslatsöid sfen ífa'u ksalakhalörauth nöi.
DEF.SEPT sister-NOM.SEPT seven-NOM.SEPT AUX.PRES INDEF.SEPT star-NOM.SEPT INDEF group-INSTR PTCL DEF.PL Pleiades-POST.PL as also be.known.PRES.PTPL-NOM.SEPT be
The Seven Sisters are a group of stars also known as the Pleiades.

Sí la chíkh Hangulsír Zharíölír Zhöshelír, arzhö vík Hangufsích Zharíöfích Pungemnöfích, möl.
I'm talking about the G7 nations, not the G20.

N.B.: In the contexts of the above two sentences, where the sets of seven are assumed to be well known, not using the septimal would mark one as a rube or a non-native speaker. This is not the place to throw up one's hands and say, "Who cares?"

3) As with the septimal in general, mystery surrounds the origins of the septimal pronouns. Some suggest that they were a pure invention of the Academia, while others claim that they arose organically. In either case, the Academia has not been equivocal in its active promotion of septimal pronoun usage as a means of highlighting Géarthnuns' distinctiveness, but as the gentle reader might imagine, the trickle-down effect of language policy by fiat has met with rather limited success. One may well encounter the first and second person pronouns in contexts like these:

A: Garhaknöns! Aurin la cha thípödínsav kadiz.
A: Snow White! We are going to the mines.

U: Sí la wöijar cha hengedínsav ösef.
U: I am waiting for you here.

---

A: Aurin, dzeratsöith géartöith fanfetöith chöikh, la chí tsérhashmölsít chö díbsök zhö che alürhethsek awau chöi alüdzeratsöik söbös cha dhvígönsan mníéí staz.
1SEPT-NOM, minister-NOM.SEPT loyal-NOM.SEPT all-NOM.SEPT DEF.SEPT, AUX.PRES DEF report-ACC DEF king-DAT and DEF president-DAT also DEF prime.minister-DAT 3SG-GEN DEF respect-INSTR all-ADV deliver
A: We, loyal ministers all, respectfully deliver our report to the king, his president, and his prime minister.

U: Makhlama la wöijar dimshal.
U: We are listening (to you).

It should be noted, however, that these are very stylized, prepared forms of speaking, and are not considered at all conversational. In conversation, such forms sound stilted and affected to most speakers, and are generally replaced by plural pronouns.

In the third person, septimal pronouns have a greater foothold in spoken Géarthnuns, if only because they can be used directly with reference to a famous grouping of seven antecedent. It would not be unusual or out of place to hear:

A: Sí la sí gefrölsít chík Ngaftalsíd ésh chö Öbelöbsös rhal.
A: I'm reading a book about the Seven Wonders of the World.

U: Erhí? Fí la thífír umpeth.
U: Really? I'm not familiar with them.

though one would not be censured, except, perhaps, by a rabid prescriptivist, for using the plural in this context:

U: Erhí? Fí la ngífích umpeth.
U: Really? I'm not familiar with them.

4) The septimal number, like the other grammatical numbers, has no affect on the Géarthnuns verbal complex:

Se nggarhaths la söikh skatsöir zhöshetöir dimtel.
A sheep is looking at seven horses.

Söikh skatsöith zhöshetöith la se nggarhathset dimtel.
Seven horses are looking at a sheep.

Se enseüthsen cha ípwans la chíkh jüfölsír cha ensas tel.
By means of a prism, the girl sees the colors of the spectrum.

Se enseüthsen chíkh jüfölsíth cha ensas lat cha ípwansan tel.
By means of a prism, the colors of the spectrum are seen by the girl.

Sak Flaivonapwerinsap Sfönap - Other Example Sentences

Che swövidníkhalöths lö chakh Haransar fanfenar cha gamvönsab híöwí fan tel.
DEF explorer-NOM AUX.PRESPRF DEF.SEPT sea-ACC.SEPT all-ACC.SEPT DEF ship-POST aboard all-ADV see
The explorer has seen all of the Seven Seas aboard his ship.

Chíkh enseölsíth la flahan'gésersauv cha hengedínsav thauth.
DEF.SEPT funfair-NOM.SEPT AUX.PRES May-LOC DEF here-LOC come
The funfair comes here in May.

An example from elsewhere

[Khemehekis]

Yay sevens!

The only conlang of mine to have a heptal is Javarti. But there are other peoples who have an inexplicable attachment to the mystique of the number seven.

This seven phenomenon is so pervasive, in fact, that if you'll look at:

http://khemehekis.angelfire.com/kankalph.htm

You'll see the Kankonian numeral 7 started out as a drawing of a fire (the Burning Bush?)

[Lambuzhao]

Lucky sevens!



Do you talk about quintessence in Gearthuns philosophy, or rather septessence?

[Lao Kou]

Chöik Kütsöip (I) - Questions (I)

Setting up example sentences that were marginally lucid or at least less contextlessly stilted would be a lot easier if one had question formation and the past tense in one's quiver. To that end, the gentle reader's attention is directed first to asking marginally lucid and less contextlessly stilted questions...

Whether questions in Géarthnuns are polar, non-polar, alternative, or tag questions, they all require a verb in the interrogative mood:

Chau Néçafömírs - The Interrogative

Chü Tubílíbdönöks - Formation

The interrogative is the first of five moods marked with a verbal mood prefix, a frilténs, composed of a héfö and a vowel. The frilténs which marks the interrogative mood is hö-. Except for occasional considerations of emphasis, clarity, or sentence cadence, it is generally not stressed, and is attached to verbs in the following ways:

Category 1) If the citation form of the verb starts with a consonant, hö- is affixed directly to the verb:

hö- + citation form

balaf (stop) → höbalaf → höbalaf
vazh (buy) → hövazh → hövazh
kadiz (go) → hökadiz → hökadiz
mölman (sing) → hömölman → hömölman
gvezíökh (catch) → högvezíökh → högvezíökh
kshel (beg) → hökshel → hökshel
síuth (thank) → hösíuth → hösíuth

N.B.: This is one of those places discussed in the first post where a syllabic nasal might get lost in the shuffle if one isn't careful.

nggavökh (kill) → hönggavökh → hönggavökh : is read hö-ng-gavökh [ˌhø.ŋˈgavøx] (4 syllables), not höng-gavökh [høŋˈgavøx] (3 syllables)
mpril (be annoyed) → hömpril → hömpril : is read hö-m-pril [ˌhø.mˈpɾɪl] (3 syllables), not höm-pril [hømˈpɾɪl] (2 syllables)
ndezh (cure) → höndezh → höndezh : is read hö-n-dezh [ˌhø.nˈdɛʒ] (3 syllables), not hön-dezh [hønˈdɛʒ] (2 syllables)

Category 2) If the citation form of the verb starts with a vowel, an intermediary héfö is added before hö- is affixed to the verb:

hö- + -h- + citation form

öf (build) → höhöf → höhöf
uzh (blossom) → höhuzh → höhuzh
éöz (exclaim) → höhéöz → höhéöz
abarön (justify) → höhabarön → höhabarön
öilemiçnakh (survive) → höhöilemiçnakh → höhöilemiçnakh
auçpul (tear) → höhauçpul → höhauçpul
inth (read aloud) → höhinth → höhinth

N.B.: If initial imbe shumatsöin appears in its capacity as consonantal /j/, the verb will pattern as Category 1:

íaswön (be grateful) → höíaswön → höíaswön
íömpeth (separate) → höíömpeth → höíömpeth
íezh (knit) → höíezh → höíezh

If it is working as vocalic /i/, the verb will pattern as Category 2:

ísüél (sprout) → höhísüél → höhísüél
ízhökh (triumph) → höhízhökh → höhízhökh
íkföl (chat) → höhíkföl → höhíkföl

Category 3) To the Géarthçins mindset, for citation forms already starting with a héfö, the intermediary héfö is still added, the two héfö's become a ba, and hö- is affixed to the verb. The gentle reader may simply wish to conceptualize it as dropping the initial héfö and adding a ba (or, even more simply, just changing initial héfö to ba) before hö- is affixed to the verb:

hö- + -b- + (citation form - initial h)

héf (sleep) → höbéf → höbéf
hombeküzh (weld) → höbombeküzh → höbombeküzh
haz (transport) → höbaz → höbaz
hin (use) → höbin → höbin
hökh (be that) → höbökh → höbökh
haisal (deep-fry) → höbaisal → höbaisal
huth (waft) → höbuth → höbuth

N.B.: Some verbs may simply start with "hö", without it being the interrogative frilténs:

höfnazhen (agree)：

Vö önöikhs la fenfek höfnazhen.
The blacksmith doesn't agree with you. not Doesn't the blacksmith agree with you?

hökarhaz (hallow):

Chau ngalars öçkes lat hökarhaz.
Your name is hallowed. not Is your name hallowed?

As such, their interrogative forms follow the Category 3 pattern:

höfnazhen → höböfnazhen:

Vö önöikhs la fenfek höböfnazhen?
Doesn't the blacksmith agree with you?

hökarhaz → höbökarhaz:

Chau ngalars öçkes lat höbökarhaz?
Is your name hallowed?

Chü Hínabdönöks - Usage

Chöik Gnarölíkütsöip - Polar Questions:

1) A polar question, requiring a yes or no answer and perhaps some additional reiterated or modified information, has the same word order as an unmarked declarative sentence. A question of this sort is indicated by placing the verb of the main clause in the interrogative mood, and on the spoken level, by a rising intonation:

i) Chau helkers la sau furs nöi. → Chau helkers la sau furs hönöi?
That's a pen. → Is that a pen?

ii) Vau helkems la fau fums nöi. → Vau helkems la fau fums hönöi?
That's not a pen. → Is that not a pen?

iii) Öçek la héf. → Öçek la höbéf?
You're sleeping. → Are you sleeping?

iv) Fenfe la héf. → Fenfe la höbéf?
You aren't sleeping. → Aren't you sleeping?

v) Söb la sí gefrölsít rhal. → Söb la sí gefrölsít hörhal?
He's reading a book. → Is he reading a book?

vi) Fökh la fí gefröfsít rhal. → Fökh la fí gefröfsít hörhal?
He isn't reading a book. → Isn't he reading a book?

vii) Cha ípwans la chöil höraubanatsöim chö ngérhüjebsös ögaz. → Cha ípwans la chöil höraubanatsöim chö ngérhüjebsös höhögaz?
The girl is inflating the tires of her bicycle. → Is the girl inflating the tires of her bicycle?

viii) Va ípwaps la vöil höraubanadhsöim vö ngérhüjekhsös ögaz. → Va ípwaps la vöil höraubanadhsöim vö ngérhüjekhsös höhögaz?
The girl isn't inflating the tires of her bicycle. → Isn't the girl inflating the tires of her bicycle?

2) Answers to polar questions have a four-way split in Géarthnuns, which may be schematized as follows:

Code: Select all

                     Affirmative Question   Negative Question
Affirmative Answer          shau                  zhgai
Negative Answer		       glé                   gnöi

Applied to the questions from above:

i) Chau helkers la sau furs hönöi?
Is that a pen?

Affirmative:

Shau, chau helkers la sau furs nöi.
Yes, that's a pen.

Shau(, saur la he).
Yes(, it is).

Negative:

Glé, vau helkems la fau fums nöi.
No, that isn't a pen.

Glé(, faum la he).
No(, it isn't).

---

ii) Vau helkems la fau fums hönöi?
Is that not a pen?

Affirmative:

Zhgai, chau helkers la sau furs nöi.
Yes, that is a pen.

Zhgai(, saur la he).
Yes(, it is).

Negative:

Gnöi, vau helkems la fau fums nöi.
No, that isn't a pen.

Gnöi(, faum la he).
No(, it isn't).

---

iii) Öçek la höbéf?
Are you sleeping?

Affirmative:

Shau, sí la héf.
Yes, I'm sleeping.

Shau(, sí la he).
Yes(, I am).

Negative:

Glé, fí la héf.
No, I'm not sleeping.

Glé, sí la spuna'u öiü alseth.
No, I'm just lying down for a few minutes.

Glé(, fí la he).
No(, I'm not).

---

iv) Fenfe la höbéf?
Aren't you sleeping?

Affirmative:

Zhgai, sí la héf.
Yes, I am sleeping.

Zhgai(, sí la he).
Yes(, I am).

Negative:

Gnöi, fí la héf.
No, I'm not sleeping.

Gnöi, sí la spuna'u öiü alseth.
No, I'm just lying down for a few minutes.

Gnöi(, fí la he).
No(, I'm not).

---

v) Söb la sí gefrölsít hörhal?
Is he reading a book?

Affirmative:

Shau, söb la sí gefrölsít rhal.
Yes, he's reading a book.

Shau(, söb la he).
Yes(, he is).

Negative:

Glé, fökh la fí gefröfsít rhal.
No, he isn't reading a book.

Glé(, fökh la he).
No(, he isn't).

---

vi) Fökh la fí gefröfsít hörhal?
Isn't he reading a book?

Affirmative:

Zhgai, söb la sí gefrölsít rhal.
Yes, he is reading a book.

Zhgai(, söb la he).
Yes(, it is).

Negative:

Gnöi, fökh la fí gefröfsít rhal.
No, he isn't reading a book.

Gnöi(, fökh la he).
No(, he isn't).

---

vii) Cha ípwans la chöil höraubanatsöim chö ngérhüjebsös höhögaz?
Is the girl inflating the tires of her bicycle?

Affirmative:

Shau, san la chöil höraubanatsöim chö ngérhüjebsös ögaz.
Yes, she's inflating the tires of her bicycle.

Shau, san la böitöim ögaz.
Yes, she's inflating them.

Shau(, san la he).
Yes(, he is).

Negative:

Glé, fap la vöil höraubanadhsöim vö ngérhüjekhsös ögaz.
No, she isn't inflating the tires of her bicycle.

Glé, fap la töidhöim ögaz.
No, she isn't inflating them.

Glé, san la chöik skatsöich dlübef.
No, she's feeding the horses.

Glé(, fap la he).
No(, she isn't).

---

viii) Va ípwaps la vöil höraubanadhsöim vö ngérhüjekhsös höhögaz?
Isn't the girl inflating the tires of her bicycle?

Affirmative:

Zhgai, san la chöil höraubanatsöim chö ngérhüjebsös ögaz.
Yes, she is inflating the tires of her bicycle.

Zhgai, san la böitöim ögaz.
Yes, she is inflating them.

Shau(, san la he).
Yes(, he is).

Negative:

Gnöi, fap la vöil höraubanadhsöim vö ngérhüjekhsös ögaz.
No, she isn't inflating the tires of her bicycle.

Gnöi, fap la töidhöim ögaz.
No, she isn't inflating them.

Gnöi, san la chöik skatsöich dlübef.
No, she's feeding the horses.

Gnöi(, fap la he).
No(, she isn't).

3) The adverb "nzo", which has been glossed elsewhere in the forum as "on earth", indicates that the speaker wishes to get to the bottom of a matter and may also express a certain degree of frustration or impatience on the part of the speaker. With polar questions, it is better glossed as "or not", and normally goes directly in front of the interrogative verb:

Chau helkers la sau furs nzo hönöi?
Is that a pen or not?
Is that a pen or isn't it?
Is that or is that not a pen?

Öçek la nzo höbéf?
Are you sleeping or not?
Are you sleeping or aren't you?

Söb la sí gefrölsít nzo hörhal?
Is he reading a book or not?
Is he reading a book or isn't he?
Is he or is he not reading a book?

Cha ípwans la chöil höraubanatsöim chö ngérhüjebsös nzo höhögaz?
Is the girl inflating the tires of her bicycle or not?
Is the girl inflating the tires of her bicycle or isn't she?

Chöik Jwenöirethekütsöip - Tag Questions:

Tag or tail question is a bit of a misnomer in Géarthnuns as the standard form of this type of question does not simply involve uttering a declarative statement and then making a question out of it by sticking something on the end (at least, no more so than regular Géarthnuns polar questions do). Tag questions are called "confirmation questions" in Géarthnuns since the speaker is assumed to be making some sort of inference and is nudging the listener in a certain direction to confirm that the inference is true. Other layers of pragmatic consideration may come into play, of course, but this is viewed by the Géarthçins as the essential function of the confirmation question.

1) The adverb that signals this inference and anticipated concord is "mva", and when placed, like "nzo", directly in front of the interrogative verb, it creates a tag-style type question:

i) Chau helkers la sau furs mva hönöi?
That's a pen, isn't it?

ii) Vau helkems la fau fums mva hönöi?
That's not a pen, is it?

iii) Öçek la mva höbéf?
You're sleeping, aren't you?

iv) Fenfe la mva höbéf?
You aren't sleeping, are you?

v) Söb la sí gefrölsít mva hörhal?
He's reading a book, isn't he?

vi) Fökh la fí gefröfsít mva hörhal?
He isn't reading a book, is he?

vii) Cha ípwans la chöil höraubanatsöim chö ngérhüjebsös mva höhögaz?
The girl's inflating the tires of her bicycle, isn't she?

viii) Va ípwaps la vöil höraubanadhsöim vö ngérhüjekhsös mva höhögaz?
The girl isn't inflating the tires of her bicycle, is she?

2) Appropriate affirmative and negative responses to these questions may be found above in Polar Questions, note 2.

3) All the above about standard confirmation questions having been said, it is, in fact, possible to make true tag-style type questions, as the gentle reader may have noticed in earlier postings of this thread. The expression "mva hö", a truncated, set version of the confirmation question, may be used all by itself in a variety of speech registers by the listener to express concurrence with what has just been said. In this instance, it is functioning rather similarly to Japanese そうですね (sō desu ne):

A: Seth la che hengedalthsev auva'u ksa ngüdhez.
3SG-NOM AUX.PRES DEF today-LOC quite-ADV "unfortunately"-ADV be.hot
A: My, it's quite hot today.

U: Mva hö.
U: Yes, it rather is, isn't it?

---

A: Neskers zhö kfínörs! Chau shebers henger la ngauzçur nöi!
heaven-NOM and below-NOM! DEF class-NOM this-NOM AUX.PRES zero.dull-NOM be
A: God, this class is boring!

U: Mva hö!
U: You said it!

When used by the speaker, it may be tacked on to a declarative clause or phrase to elicit a mild confirmation or clarification. In this capacity, it is often used in conjunction with "de", "so/and/then":

De, söl kawabsözh zhö sí zçöithféls la nöi, mva hö?
So, that's two coffees and a zçöithféls, then?

While this usage is not considered impolite as such, it presumes familiarity or suggests that a degree of rapport has already been established, so unless one is talking with close friends or family, it is better not to lead with this style of question until speaker and listener have taken a few minutes to tacitly agree upon a politeness level and build a rapport, however brief. Once done, these questions can have the feel of quick follow-ups expressing concern and interest in the listener.

After a few minutes' conversation at the delicatessen:

De, öçek la se gdönshuthset chöi funtsöin shath, mva hö?
So you sell ham by the pound, right?

Perhaps chatting to another passenger on the train:

De, öçek lü Polskasarsauv thauth, mva hö?
So you said you come from Poland?

Without briefly laying this groundwork with strangers and more distant acquaintances, however, "mva hö" comes across as presumptuous and forward:

Öçek la se gdönshuthset chöi funtsöin shath, mva hö?
You do sell ham by the pound, yeah?

Öçek lü Polskasarsauv thauth, mva hö?
You come from Poland, huh?

Sak Flaivonapwerinsap Sfönap - Other Example Sentences

Öçek la che helkethset hötel?
Do you see that?

Shau, sí la he. // Glé, fí la he.
Yes, I do. // No, I don't.

---

Chí hengels la chí hakfalígefröls hönöi?
Is this the dictionary?

Glé, chí hengels la chí fídels nöi.
No, this is the elephant. (a Berlitz self-teaching book type of exchange)

---

Vö önöikhs la fenfek höböfnazhen?
Doesn't the blacksmith agree with you?

Zhgai, söb la he. // Gnöi, fökh la he.
Yes, he does. // No, he doesn't.

(Mariginal lucidity can wait until Part II)

Yes, No

Can you drive a car?

Fun with questions

it rains

[eldin raigmore]

Chí Zhöshetals - The Septimal

You don't have a trial, do you? Or a quadral? or a pental ("quintal" means hundredweight so I used "pental" for the grammatical number)?

No natural language is known to have a quadral number that explicitly and exclusively means "there are four of them".
The morphology for some languages' paucal (or "lesser paucal" if they have two paucal numbers) seems to be phonologically related to the number "four" in their own language or a related language or a neighboring language; nevertheless the grammatical number covers at least two definitedeterminate numbers -- "three or four", or, "four or five", are as close as it gets.
It had been suggested that American Sign Language (and/or possibly other sign-languages) has a quadral and a pental, but further investigation led to the decision that this wasn't really a full-fledged grammatical number.

I would think your conlang's "septimal" grammatical number would evolve, semantically, into a paucal, or a greater paucal, or a lesser plural. It might still be called "septimal" by your con-grammarians; but it would refer to groups with "around seven" members, rather than groups of exactly seven.

As far as anyone knows so far, in natlangs the "trial" grammatical number occurs only in pronouns, not in nouns. The same might be true of "septimal"; or at least that might make it more believable.

There are seven grammatical numbers that are known to occur in natlangs; singular, dual, trial, lesser paucal, greater paucal, lesser plural, and greater plural.
No single natlang is known to have more than five of them.
No single natlang has (AFAA1K) more than three of the indefiniteindeterminate numbers; some have a paucal and a lesser plural and a greater plural, and some have a lesser paucal and a greater paucal and a plural, but none (as far as anyone knows) splits both the paucal and the plural into lesser and greater.
No natlang that has a trial has more than two indefiniteindeterminate numbers; at a maximum it might have both a paucal and a plural.

No natlang that has a trial fails to have a dual.
By analogy, if your conlang has a septimal grammatical number to refer to all and only groups with exactly seven members, it should also have a seximal (heximal?) to refer to all and only groups with exactly six members, and a pental (quintal?) to refer to all and only groups with exactly five members, and a quadral (quadrual? tetral?) to refer to groups of exactly four, and a trial (tertal?) grammatical number too.

Even if it doesn't; I would expect that, if it has a septimal, it has a different grammatical number to refer to groups of between three and six members than to refer to groups of eight or more members.

---

All of the above depends partly on how naturalistic and/or realistic you want your conlang to be; I gather neither naturalism nor realism are among your design-goals.

But it's still relevant, at least in part, to how usable you would want it to be for your fictional con-speakers and their con-speech community.

You will still need to answer the question: Is the grammatical number used for groups of more than two but fewer than seven members, the same as or different from, that used for groups of more than seven members?

---

I hope that helps; and whether or not it helps, I hope it is taken in the spirit with which I intended it.
Obviously I think it's an interesting conlang. For instance I especially enjoy nzo.
And I'm also interested in those mini-spring rolls. I happen to be going to the kitchen right now.



[hr][/hr]
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
[hr][/hr]



Is your "omnial" gender the one usually called "common, epicene, mixed, unknown, or unspecified"? With emphasis on the "common, epicene, or mixed"?
I've never before seen "omnial" as a gender; I've seen it as a grammatical number, but not as a gender or noun-class.

[Lao Kou]

There are seven grammatical numbers that are known to occur in natlangs; singular, dual, trial, lesser paucal, greater paucal, lesser plural, and greater plural.

Well, of course -- that's the way it is.

Is the grammatical number used for groups of more than two but fewer than seven members, the same as or different from, that used for groups of more than seven members?

The same. The everyday silverware uses the singular, dual, and plural numbers. The septimal is the oyster fork of the bunch. You trot it out for special occasions or when your Gran's around to show her that you actually use the oyster forks she gave you as a wedding present.

Is your "omnial" gender the one usually called "common, epicene, mixed, unknown, or unspecified"?

Yes, it included all of that.

[eldin raigmore]

Is your "omnial" gender the one usually called "common, epicene, mixed, unknown, or unspecified"?

Yes, it included all of that.

And nothing else?

[Lao Kou]

Is your "omnial" gender the one usually called "common, epicene, mixed, unknown, or unspecified"?

Yes, it included all of that.

And nothing else?

...and a partridge in a pear tree.

[Lao Kou]

Chöik Kütsöip (II) - Questions (II)

Chü Hínabdönöks - Usage

Chöik Ksegebökütsöip - Alternative Questions:

There are two types of alternative questions:

1) Chöik Ksegebökütsöip Füdefalötöip - Inclusive Alternative Questions:

In this type of question, the speaker presents two or more options to the listener who is not expected to make an explicit choice. While an extended response may indicate that one of the options is correct or preferred, the expected initial answer is actually "yes" or "no", all or none of the options are viable. The word pair for "or", indicating that the options are inclusive, is dla, to connect nouns, adjectives, adverbs, and postpositional phrases, and ardla for verbs, clauses, and sentences. Moreover, as these questions are basically polar in nature, if not exactly in form, they are marked, on the spoken level, by a rising intonation:

i) Öçek la sö kawabsöt dla sö chabsöt hökalaf?
Would you like a coffee or a tea? (≅ Would you like a beverage?)

Shau./Glé.
Yes./No.

---

ii) Beth la chau pthaumnursauv dla cha frensab naiat hökadiz?
Are they going to the cottage or abroad? (≅ Are they going away?)

Shau./Glé.
Yes./No.

---

iii) Söb la sö ngarebsöt dla sau teshersaut dla söi ömbíötsöit hödvölesal?
Does he have a dog or a cat or a bird? (≅ Does he have a pet?)

Shau./Glé.
Yes./No.

---

iv) Öçek la chau íuméversauv ba glozh ardla ba içdimtel höhüraf?
Do you want to eat out or see a movie or something? (≅ Do you want to go on a date with me?)

Shau./Glé.
Yes./No.

---

v) Seth la fun. Trízh la chö dnazçabsöt ba íönsel ardla ba içtel ardla chau zhdörsaut ba lan höman?
It's raining. Shall we play checkers or watch TV or clean the kitchen? (≅ Shall we pass our rainy afternoon enjoyably/productively?)

Shau./Glé.
Yes./No.

2) Chöik Ksegebökütsöip Aingözhalötöip - Exclusive Alternative Questions:

In this type of question, the speaker presents two or more options to the listener who is expected to make an explicit choice to the exclusion of the other(s). The word pair for "or", indicating that the options are exclusive, is hetaum, to connect nouns, adjectives, adverbs, and postpositional phrases, and ar'hetaum for verbs, clauses, and sentences. Moreover, as these questions are vaguely non-polar in nature, in that they ask for a specific piece of information (namely, which option is the viable one), they are marked, on the spoken level, by a falling intonation on the final option:

i) Öçek la sö kawabsöt hetaum sö chabsöt hökalaf?
Would you like a coffee or a tea? (≅ Which one would you like?)

Sö kawabsöt.
A coffee.

---

ii) Beth la chau pthaumnursauv hetaum cha frensab naiat hökadiz?
Are they going to the cottage or abroad? (≅ Which place are they going to?)

Chau pthaumnursauv.
To the cottage.

---

iii) Söb la sö ngarebsöt hetaum sau teshersaut hetaum söi ömbíötsöit hödvölesal?
Does he have a dog or a cat or a bird? (≅ Which one does he have?)

Sau teshersaut.
A cat.

---

iv) Öçek la chau íuméversauv ba glozh ar'hetaum ba içdimtel höhüraf?
Do you want to eat out or see a movie? (≅ Which do you want to do?)

Chau íuméversauv glozh.
Eat out.

---

v) Seth la fun. Trízh la chö dnazçabsöt ba íönsel ar'hetaum ba içtel ar'hetaum chau zhdörsaut ba lan höman?
It's raining. Shall we play checkers or watch TV or clean the kitchen? (≅ Which way shall we spend our rainy afternoon?)

Chau zhdörsaut lan.
Clean the kitchen.

3) The adverb nzo, encountered in Part I, may also be used in alternative questions. In inclusive questions, it suggests that the speaker wants to know, perhaps impatiently, whether the underlying polar question is correct or not:

i) Öçek la sö kawabsöt dla sö chabsöt nzo hökalaf?
Would you like a coffee or a tea? (≅ Would you like something or not?)

ii) Beth la chau pthaumnursauv dla cha frensab naiat nzo hökadiz?
Are they going to the cottage or abroad? (≅ Are they going away or not?)

In exclusive questions, it suggests that the speaker is compelling the listener to definitively make a choice:

i) Öçek la sö kawabsöt hetaum sö chabsöt nzo höhüraf?
Do you want a coffee or a tea already? (≅ Pick one!)

ii) Beth la chau pthaumnursauv hetaum cha frensab naiat nzo hökadiz?
So what is it, are they going to the cottage or abroad?

Chöik Vétakütsöip - Non-Polar Questions:

1) Non-polar questions involve interrogative words, which in Géarthnuns most often begin with the letters chem, enga. Among them:

cheths - who
chens - what
cher'ha - where
vacher'ha - whither
oshtecher'ha - whence
chemen - when
chelöi - why
cheveçö - how

N.B.: cheths and chens, being pronouns of the fpaukiths and gwílöns declensions respectively, can be declined and have corresponding negative forms:

cheths:

Code: Select all

                  Affirmative	   Negative		     
Nominative         cheths           vegs	       			    
Accusative         chethset         vegset
Dative             chethsek         vegsek
Instrumental       chethsen         vegsen
Postpositional     chethseb         vegseb
Genitive           chethses         vegses
Locative           chethsev         vegsev

chens:

Code: Select all

                 Affirmative	    Negative		     
Nominative         chens            veps	       			    
Accusative         chensat          vepsat
Dative             chensak          vepsak
Instrumental       chensan          vepsan
Postpositional     chensab          vepsab
Genitive           chensas          vepsas
Locative           chensav          vepsav

2) A non-polar question has the same word order as an unmarked declarative sentence, with the interrogative word normally occupying the same position as its response would:

Öçek la chethset höhiçtel?
Who are you watching on television?

Öçek la chethsek sa pfesensat höfuzh? or Öçek la sa pfesensat chethsek höfuzh?
Who are you writing a letter to?

Che autezgöths lat chethsen höstaz?
Who is the speech being delivered by?

Söb la chethseb shut chau dhvénarsauv hökadiz? or Söb la chau dhvénarsauv chethseb shut hökadiz?
Who's he going to the party with?

Chí helkels la chí gefröls chethses hönöi?
Whose book is that?

Chí sebölíbauths la chethsev hönzdanez?
Who is the police officer walking over to?

Öçek la chensat hödravnath?
What are you doing?

Cha rézöns la chensak sö atéöbsöt hösheruteth? or Cha rézöns la sö atéöbsöt chensak hösheruteth?
What is the witch casting a spell on?

Chau jürs la chensan höbzherön.
What is wine made from?

Chí çepövdanawals la chensab veng hömal?
What is the gas station next to?

San la cha öns chensas hönöi?
What is she the queen of?

Chau zhlöpars henger lat chensav höbekh?
What is this rope connected to?

N.B.: Questions with cheths and chens in the nominative involve an additional piece of grammar which will be explained in a later post. The curious gentle reader can, however, find examples of such usage below and in other posts around the forum.

Chü gefrölímarangíks la cher'ha hömal?
Where is the library?

Chü karhéviks hengek la vacher'ha hökadiz?
Where is this train going?

Íegors la oshtecher'ha höthauth?
Where does Yegor come from?

Chí içdimtels la chemen höleversíth?
When does the movie start?

Öçek la chak unsach chak flahansang chü mníaksüv chelöi höchföidhez? or Öçek la chelöi chak unsach chak flahansang chü mníaksüv höchföidhez?
Why are you cutting the flowers' stems under water?

Cha dníövöns la chü kaladheksüt che bvögrílakuzhdölsithseb thfau cheveçö hödzíjaf? or Cha dníövöns la cheveçö chü kaladheksüt che bvögrílakuzhdölsithseb thfau hödzíjaf?
How is the government dealing with the problem of air pollution?

3) It is here that the adverb nzo makes sense in its usual gloss as "on earth". nzo, down in front of the interrogative verb, may be used in conjunction with almost any interrogative word -- "who on earth", "what on earth", "where on earth", etc. -- to express impatience, incredulity, bafflement, surprise, or exasperation:

Söb la chethseb shut chau dhvénarsauv nzo hökadiz?
Who on earth is he going to the party with?

Öçek la chensat nzo hödravnath?
What on earth are you doing?

Öçek la chak unsach chak flahansang chü mníaksüv chelöi nzo höchföidhez?
Why on earth are you cutting the flowers' stems under water?

One trusts the gentle reader gets the idea without reiterating all of the above examples.

It is to be advised that the neophyte proceed gingerly in using nzo, in any type of question, with people one does not know well. To be sure, there are times when one needs to ascertain from an equivocating serviceperson if the train is, in fact, going to one's destination -- everyone understands this. However, the nzo approach, unskillfully applied, frequently results in people shutting down communicatively, and as the object of asking questions is often to elicit information one needs or wants, one should consider a moment before using it. After all, to housekeeping, saying:

Chauk thersaup örhöraup che hengedalthses la cher'ha nzo hömal?

may sound like:

Where the hell are today's clean towels?

and will most likely not get you the freshest chocolate mint on your pillow that evening.

Sak Flaivonapwerinsap Sfönap - Other Example Sentences

Öçek la chensat hötel?
What do you see?

Fenfe la vepsat hötel?
What don't you see?

San la cher'ha höhan?
Where does she live?

Öçek la chethseb shut che hengedalthsev höíönsel?
Who are you playing with today?

Öçek las chelöi nzo hödvagakh?
2SG-NOM AUX.PRES.REFL why on.earth-ADV hit-INTERR
Why are you hitting yourself?

Seth lav che helkethset cha géarthnunsan cheveçö höngamath?
3SG-NOM AUX.PRES.IMPERS DEF that-ACC DEF Géarthnuns-INSTR how say-INTERR
How do you say that in Géarthnuns?

Shahöchens techetneken dvau chí shesölsíb dvau lav sau íalörsauv hasírerauv bat zçeçivöz cheveçö hömprekh?
something-NOM beautiful-NOM as DEF love-POST as AUX.PRES.IMPERS INDEF person-LOC single-LOC PTCL.PASS limit how be.possible-INTERR
How can something so beautiful as love be confined to a single person?

Cheths lav chethset hösöl?
who-NOM AUX.PRES.IMPERS who-ACC love-INTERR
Who loves whom?

Cheths lav chethsen bat söl höbökh?
who-NOM AUX.PRES.IMPERS who-INSTR PTCL.PASS love be.that-INTERR
Who is loved by whom?

Cheths lav chensat chethsek höngamath?
Who says what to whom?

Cheths lav sít hödimtel?
Who is watching me?

Öçek lé söböt hönggavökh?
Did you kill him?

Shau./Glé.
Yes./No.

Fenfe lé fökhöt hönggavökh?
Didn't you kill him?

Zhgai./Gnöi.
Yes./No.

Öçek lé chethset hönggavökh?
Who did you kill?

Cheths lév söböt hönggavökh?
Who killed him?

Öçek lé cheveçö hereçkeveçö hödravanth?
How did you do it?

Öçek la chethseb chlai höban?
In whose house do you live? (normal)

Öçek la chö béöbsöv chethses höban?
In whose house do you live? (a little clinical and frosty; don't get too comfy)

Che töths chegveth la öçkek hönöi?
DEF car-NOM which-NOM AUX.PRES 2SG-DAT be-INTERR
Which car is yours?

Chak flahansap chegvenap la öçkek hönöi?
Which flowers are yours?

Öçek la cha frensav chegvenav, cha shtülansav chegvenav hözhapröth?
To what country, and what city, are you moving?

Öçek la chö béöbsöt sö jüfölíchögebsöb sfen höfsurol?
2SG-NOM AUX.PRES DEF house-ACC INDEF how.colored.one-POST as paint
In what color are you painting the house?

Would you rather be a banjo or accordeon player?

What what what which?

Who makes kimchi?

[Lao Kou]

Chí Éshevíls - The Past Tense

Chü Tubílíbdönöks - Formation

In the past tense, the shléts is "lé", and unmarked, it designates the active voice. As with the present tense, the Géarthnuns past forms of the verb do not distinguish between the simple, progressive, and emphatic forms of English:

lé shöl - cried, was crying, did cry, has cried, has been crying
lé shöz - ran, was running, did run, has run, has been running
lé förhífaz - danced, was dancing, did dance, has danced, has been dancing
lé nöi - was (being), has been (being)

nor are verbs conjugated for person or number:

sí lé shöl - I cried, was crying, did cry, have cried, have been crying
öçek lé shöl - you cried, were crying, did cry, have cried, have been crying
söb lé shöl - he/she/it cried, was crying, did cry, has cried, has been crying
trízh/makhlama lé shöl - we (two)/we cried, were crying, did cry, have cried, have been crying
skom/kfazh lé shöl - you (two)/you (pl.) cried, were crying, did cry, have cried, have been crying
böb/rhöb lé shöl - they (two)/they cried, were crying, did cry, have cried, have been crying

The passive and dative passive voices encountered so far are formed in the past tense the same way as the present tense counterparts:

Passive:

lé → lét → lét

Examples:

lét glozh - was (being) eaten, has been eaten

lét gdez - was (being) thrown, has been thrown

lét inth - was (being) read aloud, has been read aloud

Dative passive:

lé → lék → lék

Examples:

lék gamez - was (being) given, has been given

lék ngamath - was (being) told, has been told

lék radzön - was (being) shown, has been shown

With the two tenses, three voices, and two moods introduced thus far, the verb paradigm now looks like this:

Indicative:

Code: Select all

                 Present	    Past		     
Active           la gamez      lé gamez	       			    
Passive          lat gamez     lét gamez
Dative Passive   lak gamez     lék gamez

Interrogative:

Code: Select all

                 Present	    Past		     
Active           la högamez    lé högamez	       			    
Passive          lat högamez   lét högamez
Dative Passive   lak högamez   lék högamez

Chü Hínabdönöks - Usage

1) The most straightforward use of the Géarthnuns past tense corresponds to the simple past of English:

Sí lé chau övwarsaut hengeraut sauk çörsauf pungekashaderauf vazh.
I bought this chair for two hundred florins.

Chü Öbelöbögadaks Pungefík lé che 1945fíthsev vangkath.
World War II ended in 1945.

---

A: Öçek lé chí gefrölsít sítelít vacher'ha höklan?
A: Where did you put my book?

U: Sí lé sílít chau chestekfasharsauv klan.
U: I put it on the bedside table.

---

Chük unaleksüp lét che hereçkevöthsev paishutel.
The bulbs were planted last fall.

Chöi híözçets henget lét sí deskantelsíb therme dhökferöif.
This program was filmed before a (live) audience.

---

A: Chö béöbs hengeb lét chemen höhöf?
A: When was this house built?

U: Söb lét chü gadaksüb içte öf.
U: It was built after the war.

---

Íoakíns lék «Zdídalthset Techetnekethet» chauk zhömauíörsauf mölman.
?Joachim was sung "Happy Birthday" (to) by his friends. (≅ Joachim's friends sang "Happy Birthday" to him.)

Chau öilachers lék chí laitemulsít chü aralöksün inth.
The widow was read the will by the lawyer.

---

A: Chau tezemars lék cheveçö hösemengövezh?
A: How was the doctor repaid?

U: Saur lék saul papötersaug zhö sö zherkehasöbsön semengövezh.
U: He was repaid with two chickens and a pumpkin.

2) The past progressive sense of English can often be left to context:

Vétach, chü karhéviks helkek lé vacher'ha hökadiz?
Excuse me, where was that train going? (it's pulled out of the station, but one can still see it in the distance)

Öçek lé chethseb shut höhiçmöl?
Who were you talking to on the phone? (just now)

Sí lé héf!
I was sleeping! (before you woke me up)

---

A: Íöhans zhö Matíaths lé chau hereçkemíarsauv cher'ha hömal?
A: Where were John and Matthew last night?

U: Beth lé sí jürdhalsív froman.
U: They were drinking at a bar.

The adverb "dvölíe", roughly equivalent to French "en train de" in meaning and frequency of use, can explicitly give a progressive sense to a verb:

Chíl épímalsízh lé chau níhonlatöirsaun dvölíe möl.
The (two) tourists were speaking in Japanese.

Chík içthlavalsíp chü gefrölímarangíksüs lét che hereçkedalthsev dvölíe semebekh.
The library computers were being reconnected yesterday.

Cha taifunsab ktu, cha öikthéns lék chü rhézçauksüt cha sünsan dvölíe íaugavel.
During the typhoon, the public was being apprised of the conditions by the authorities.

Juxtaposed or embedded phrases with words like "zçeshtanö", "while", and "dhvíme", "when", may also point to a progressive interpretation in English:

Zçeshtanö öçek lé chak ainsach mílshafözh sho, sí lé chau skéhalglorsaut dravnath.
I made lunch while you were raking the leaves.

Dhvíme chí içmöls lé rhöiveth sho, trízh lé içtel.
We were watching television when the phone rang.

Sí lé, zçeshtanö che töths síteth lét síöngévekh sho, ngorhof.
While my car was being repaired, I went shopping.

Chí zçalkíhels lét, dhvíme síl lé rhpelköz sho, chö altenatsubsöb jlau galen.
The pig was being led to the butcher's when it ran away.

Zçeshtanö chö dvatrebs lék chöi lífpatsöit zgortun sho, cha nghedöns lé cha frenashkölmansat hezheshöth.
As the hero was being presented with his medal, the band played the national anthem.

Söb lék, dhvíme chü kírauks lé thnövewartail sho, söi pítsalatsöit nadíélöémez.
?He was being delivered a pizza when his bathrobe fell open.

3) As indicated above, an English present perfect (progressive) interpretation is also possible, and more on distinctions will be examined in a future post on Géarthnuns' present perfect tense. For now, suffice it to say that the Géarthnuns past tense is used more frequently in these contexts than its English analogue:

Öçek lé chal gínsam sítenam hötel?
Have you seen my glasses?

---

A: Mars lé cha öbwensav hökadiz?
A: Has Mother gone to the market?

U: Shau, saur lé söik ngutsöid thenge palenguf.
U: Yes, she left a few minutes ago.

---

Trízh lét pan!
We've been robbed!

Seth lék cha víesansan í içmöl.
She's just gotten a (phone) call from her girlfriend.

Sak Flaivonapwerinsap Sfönap - Other Example Sentences

Öçek lé chensat hödravnath?
What did you do/have you done?

Chau teshers henger lé oshtecher'ha höthauth?
Where did this cat come from?

A brief revisit:

Öçek lé chensat hötel?
What did you see?

Öçek lé söböt hönggavökh?
Did you kill him?

Shau./Glé.
Yes./No.

Fenfe lé fökhöt hönggavökh?
Didn't you kill him?

Zhgai./Gnöi.
Yes./No.

Öçek lé chethset hönggavökh?
Who did you kill?

Öçek lé cheveçö hereçkeveçö hödravanth?
How did you do it?

Veps lav hödnef? Öçek lé shöl.
what-NOM.NEG AUX.PRES.IMPERS go.well? 2SG-NOM AUX.PAST cry
What's the matter? You've been crying.

Chöi röthökarhatsöib içte, makhlama lé chí dhíökelsíb aékforzhelíb pséí gwörshutal.
DEF baptism-POST after, 1PL-NOM AUX.PAST DEF photograph-POST customary-POST for gather
After the christening, we gathered for the traditional photograph.

Dhvíme Kenedí Alüdlers chau lét ötvékh sho, öçek lé cher'ha hömal?
when-CONJ Kennedy President-NOM DEF AUX.PAST.PASS assassinate PTCL, 2SG-NOM AUX.PRES where-ADV be.present
Where were you when President Kennedy was assassinated?

I was hit

Androcles and the Lion

[Lao Kou]

Chí Íshevíls - The Future Tense

Chü Tubílíbdönöks - Formation

In the future tense, the shléts is "lí ", and unmarked, it designates the active voice. The future forms of the verb do not distinguish between the simple and progressive future of English, nor do they distinguish between English's shall/will and going-to futures:

lí shöl - shall/will cry, shall/will be crying, be going to cry, be going to be crying
lí shöz - shall/will run, shall/will be running, be going to run, be going to be running
lí förhífaz - shall/will dance, shall/will be dancing, be going to dance, be going to be dancing
lí nöi - shall/will be (being), be going to be (being)

In addition, verbs in the future tense are not conjugated for person or number:

sí lí shöl - I shall/will cry, shall/will be crying, am going to cry, am going to be crying
öçek lí shöl - you shall/will cry, shall/will be crying, are going to cry, are going to be crying
söb lí shöl - he/she/it shall/will cry, shall/will be crying, is going to cry, is going to be crying
trízh/makhlama lí shöl - we (two)/we shall/will cry, shall/will be crying, are going to cry, are going to be crying
skom/kfazh lí shöl - you (two)/you (pl.) shall/will cry, shall/will be crying, are going to cry, are going to be crying
böb/rhöb lí shöl - they (two)/they shall/will cry, shall/will be crying, are going to cry, are going to be crying

The passive and dative passive voices encountered so far are formed in the future tense the same way as the present tense counterparts:

Passive:

lí → lít → lít

Examples:

lít glozh - shall/will be (being) eaten, be going to be (being) eaten

lít gdez - shall/will be (being) thrown, be going to be (being) thrown

lít inth - shall/will be (being) read aloud, be going to be (being) read aloud

Dative passive:

lí → lík → lík

Examples:

lík gamez - shall/will be (being) given, be going to be (being) given

lík ngamath - shall/will be (being) told, be going to be (being) told

lík radzön - shall/will be (being) shown, be going to be (being) shown

Thus, with the three tenses, three voices, and two moods introduced so far, the verb paradigm now looks like this:

Indicative:

Code: Select all

                 Present	    Past         Future		     
Active           la gamez      lé gamez	  lí gamez     			    
Passive          lat gamez     lét gamez    lít gamez
Dative Passive   lak gamez     lék gamez    lík gamez

Interrogative:

Code: Select all

                 Present	    Past          Future		     
Active           la högamez    lé högamez    lí högamez	       			    
Passive          lat högamez   lét högamez   lít högamez 
Dative Passive   lak högamez   lék högamez   lík högamez

Chü Hínabdönöks - Usage

1) As mentioned above, the Géarthnuns future covers both the shall/will and going-to futures of English:

Öçek lí sa gailkinsat akaz.
You will meet a handsome man.

Sí lí se zharmöthset cha kfainsak che zdídalthseb sanatheb rathé gamez.
I'm going to give my sister a sweater for her birthday.

Ve zçanezbaugs lí ve helkedalgsev thauth.
The postal carrier will not be coming tomorrow.

---

A: Öçek lí chü ukörksüt chemen höfsurol?
A: When are you going to paint the shed?

U: Sí lí süküt che thlünavangkathsev hengethev fsurol.
U: I'll paint it this weekend.

---

Chö vitezçadabs lít cha helkesegensav Brüselsív zhö Nu Íorksüv zverü ftomöl.
The plane crash will certainly be being discussed in Brussels and New York tomorrow morning.

Chí ösevönadimshals lít sau içsöthenlürsaun pfasíöna'u ngösímel.
The concert will be broadcast live via satellite.

---

A: Chí vbuls lít chemen hönadítöthélöémez?
A: When will the merchandise be delivered?

U: Síl lít che 24fíthsev nadítöthélöémez.
U: It'll be delivered on the 24th.

---

San lík chöi Öthevezíutsöit Nobelatöitöit Karl Gustafbauthsen Díbsön chö chau zçünösersauv zgortun.
She will be presented the Nobel Prize for Literature by King Carl Gustaf in December.

Sü gérhaiksüb krí, cha öikthéns lík cha sünsan chungörínan kwönavel.
In the event of an emergency, the public will be advised by the appropriate authorities.

---

A: Makhlama lík chök afstírauloigrebsöch cheveçö höíaugavel?
A: How will we be informed of our test scores?

U: Cha dalhörausegensav rhöb lít chü içkfaksüv zhö chö nötsöketsöiv chau marsaus nlörhif.
U: They will be posted online and on the school bulletin board Monday morning.

2) The Géarthnuns future is very often used in places where other languages might prefer the present tense:

Chü karhéviks lí chöik ngutsöid palavetöid psa palenguf.
The train is leaving in five minutes.

---

Sí lí cha öbwensav kadiz. Öçek la shahöchensat höhüraf?
I'm going to the market. Do you want anything? (said while in the kitchen making a list)

(to use the present tense, one must actually be en route):

Sí la cha öbwensav kadiz. Öçek la shahöchensat höhüraf?
I'm going to the market. Do you want anything? (said as you run into your neighbor on the sidewalk)

---

Seth lí sü pfuçemörheksüt cha helkethlünsav Saporosarsauv ngguz.
He/she's attending a conference in Sapporo next week.

The adverb "í " can be used to explicitly add an imminent future sense to a verb, roughly parallelling English "be going to", "be about to", or the present progressive:

Seth lí í fun.
It's going to rain. (any minute now)

Sí lí í semethauth.
I'll be right back.

Trízh lí söi pítsalatsöib pséí í dínakadiz. Öçek la ba aubüthauth höhüraf?
We're going out for a pizza. Do you want to come (along)? (one hasn't left the building, but one's getting one's keys, the elevator button has been pushed, etc.)

Chau çebers lí í tlakriz.
My bladder's about to explode.

Subordinate clauses introduced by "zçeshtanö", "while", and "shtanö" or "dhvíme", "when", use the future tense when referring to a future time, this in contrast to present tense usage in English:

Zçeshtanö öçek lí chak ainsach mílshafözh sho, sí lí chau skéhalglorsaut dravnath.
While you 're raking the leaves, I'll be making lunch.

Dhvíme chí razhíls lít vangkath sho, san lí chí zhdaifölsív palenguf.
She will leave the office when the work is finished.

Sí lí, zçeshtanö che töths síteth lít síöngévekh sho, ngorhof.
While my car is being repaired, I will go shopping.

Sí lí, shtanö cha jaflens lí frin sho, Abdensav kadiz.
I will go to Abdens when I have enough money.

Zçeshtanö chö dvatrebs lík chöi lífpatsöit zgortun sho, cha nghedöns lí cha frenashkölmansat hezheshöth.
While the hero is being presented with his medal, the band will play the national anthem.

Chök ngarebsöp lí, dhvíme öçek lí sau zhírsaut jeneth sho, bnöidal.
The dogs will salivate when you ring a bell.

Péters lí, shtanö chí zhökfervdíezhels lí rhöiveth sho, kamel.
Peter will wake up when the alarm clock goes off.

Shtanö sí lí cha öbwensav ngégadenav kadiz sho, sí lí sau ngursaut zhö sík íölsích vazh.
When I go to the supermarket, I'll buy some milk and eggs.

Sak Flaivonapwerinsap Sfönap - Other Example Sentences

Shtanö skom lí Mauskvasarsauv pímatheveth sho, skom lí chau ruskílatöirsaun ézça'u ba möl daikh.
When you visit Moscow, you'll need to speak some Russian.

Zçeshtanö fí lí va hengedípsav mal sho, öçek lí chensat hödravnath?
What will you be doing while I'm not here?

---

A: Veps lav hödnef?
A: What's the matter?

U: Vöi pshilidhs lí vau zdídalthedhvénamsauv thauth.
U: My aunt isn't coming to my birthday party.

---

Föik mnídudhsöip lí híauíalömsauk swö fan frin.
INDEF.PL.NEG lobster-NOM.PL.NEG AUX.FUT everybody-DAT "unfortunately"-ADV all-ADV be.enough
I'm afraid there won't be enough lobsters for everybody.

Things will change.

I'll be the aunt.

Sentence 28 of the Snowball Game

Sentence 109 of the Snowball Game

---

For those wanting to "go native", here is a portion of the post in Géarthnuns:

Hengegíau chau radzöntölörsauv sík shajinhakfalíshevílsíng toulíng, ezhdölsíng toulíng, zhö saul shajinhakfalíchorsauj pungerauj, chöi shajinhakfalíeskanets la gaiçö hengeveçö hepsönöi:

Agamírs:

Code: Select all

                 Ashevíls	   Éshevíls     Íshevíls		     
Moküthezhdöls    la gamez      lé gamez	  lí gamez     			    
Shövönezhdöls    lat gamez     lét gamez    lít gamez
Gamezhdöls       lak gamez     lék gamez    lík gamez

Néçafömírs:

Code: Select all

                 Ashevíls	   Éshevíls      Íshevíls		     
Moküthezhdöls    la högamez    lé högamez    lí högamez	       			    
Shövönezhdöls    lat högamez   lét högamez   lít högamez 
Gamezhdöls       lak högamez   lék högamez   lík högamez

[Lao Kou]

Chau Noimírs (I) - The Speculative (I)

Chü Tubílíbdönöks - Formation

The frilténs which marks the speculative mood is hau-. Except for occasional considerations of emphasis, clarity, or sentence cadence, it is generally not stressed, and is attached to verbs in the same manner as the interrogative:

Category 1) If the citation form of the verb starts with a consonant, hau- is affixed directly to the verb:

hau- + citation form

balaf (stop) → haubalaf → haubalaf
vazh (buy) → hauvazh → hauvazh
kadiz (go) → haukadiz → haukadiz
mölman (sing) → haumölman → haumölman
gvezíökh (catch) → haugvezíökh → haugvezíökh
kshel (beg) → haukshel → haukshel
síuth (thank) → hausíuth → hausíuth

N.B.: As with the interrogative, care should be taken that a syllabic nasal at the front of a verb in citation form doesn't get lost in the shuffle when the speculative frilténs is added.

nggavökh (kill) → haunggavökh → haunggavökh : is read hau-ng-gavökh [ˌhɔ.ŋˈgavøx] (4 syllables), not haung-gavökh [hɔŋˈgavøx] (3 syllables)
mpril (be annoyed) → haumpril → haumpril : is read hau-m-pril [ˌhɔ.mˈpɾɪl] (3 syllables), not haum-pril [hɔmˈpɾɪl] (2 syllables)
ndezh (cure) → haundezh → haundezh : is read hau-n-dezh [ˌhɔ.nˈdɛʒ] (3 syllables), not haun-dezh [hɔnˈdɛʒ] (2 syllables)

Category 2) If the citation form of the verb starts with a vowel, an intermediary héfö is added before hau- is affixed to the verb:

hau- + -h- + citation form

öf (build) → hauhöf → hauhöf
uzh (blossom) → hauhuzh → hauhuzh
éöz (exclaim) → hauhéöz → hauhéöz
abarön (justify) → hauhabarön → hauhabarön
öilemiçnakh (survive) → hauhöilemiçnakh → hauhöilemiçnakh
auçpul (tear) → hauhauçpul → hauhauçpul
inth (read aloud) → hauhinth → hauhinth

N.B.: If initial imbe shumatsöin appears in its capacity as consonantal /j/, the verb will pattern as Category 1:

íaswön (be grateful) → hauíaswön → hauíaswön
íömpeth (separate) → hauíömpeth → hauíömpeth
íezh (knit) → hauíezh → hauíezh

If it is working as vocalic /i/, the verb will pattern as Category 2:

ísüél (sprout) → hauhísüél → hauhísüél
ízhökh (triumph) → hauhízhökh → hauhízhökh
íkföl (chat) → hauhíkföl → hauhíkföl

Category 3) If the citation form starts with a héfö, the héfö changes to a ba before hau- is affixed to the verb:

hau- + -b- + (citation form - initial h)

héf (sleep) → haubéf → haubéf
hombeküzh (weld) → haubombeküzh → haubombeküzh
haz (transport) → haubaz → haubaz
hin (use) → haubin → haubin
hökh (be that) → haubökh → haubökh
haisal (deep-fry) → haubaisal → haubaisal
huth (waft) → haubuth → haubuth

N.B.: Some verbs may simply start with "hau", without it being the speculative frilténs:

haubekh (last, take)：

Chí ösevönadimshals lí saul kursaug haubekh.
The concert will last a couple of hours. not The concert may last a couple of hours.

hautgamez (yield, produce, bear):

Chö mörvenelöbs lí söi tléütsöit che hengesömöthsev hautgamez.
The orchard will produce a bumper crop this year. not The orchard may produce a bumper crop this year.

As such, their speculative forms follow the Category 3 pattern:

haubekh → haubaubekh:

Chí ösevönadimshals lí saul kursaug haubaubekh.
The concert may last a couple of hours.

hautgamez → haubautgamez:

Chö mörvenelöbs lí söi tléütsöit che hengesömöthsev haubautgamez.
The orchard may produce a bumper crop this year.

However, there may occasionally be an overlap of verb forms, as with the citation form of the Category 3 verb "haubekh" (last, take) above and the speculative form of the Category 1 verb "bekh" (connect, join):

haubekh:

Chí ösevönadimshals lé saul kursaug haubekh.
The concert lasted a couple of hours.

vs.

haubekh:

Sük lé chau fefelefmalursaut chí içtelsív haubekh.
He/she may have connected the VCR to the television.

Context and prosody clues should help to distinguish the meanings of these forms.

---

With the three tenses, three voices, and three moods introduced thus far, the verb paradigm now looks like this:

Indicative:

Code: Select all

                 Present	    Past         Future		     
Active           la gamez      lé gamez	  lí gamez     			    
Passive          lat gamez     lét gamez    lít gamez
Dative Passive   lak gamez     lék gamez    lík gamez

Interrogative:

Code: Select all

                 Present	    Past          Future		     
Active           la högamez    lé högamez    lí högamez	       			    
Passive          lat högamez   lét högamez   lít högamez 
Dative Passive   lak högamez   lék högamez   lík högamez

Speculative:

Code: Select all

                 Present	     Past           Future		     
Active           la haugamez    lé haugamez    lí haugamez	       			    
Passive          lat haugamez   lét haugamez   lít haugamez 
Dative Passive   lak haugamez   lék haugamez   lík haugamez

Chü Hínabdönöks - Usage

1) In the main clause of a sentence, the Géarthnuns speculative translates as "may" or "might" in English:

Che hereçkeths la hereçkeveçö haunöi.
That may/might be (so).

Sí lé che blethset öçelathet che hereçkedalthsev hauhakaz.
I may/might have met your husband yesterday.

Seth lí che helkedalthsev haufun.
It may/might rain tomorrow.

Sí la cha thrinazhönsat sau çörsaub jö hauven.
I may/might have change for a florin.

Sü mníaks lé chí zarköihalsív haujnísilökh.
Some water may/might have seeped into the basement.

Fau shampaníöjüms föik röshedhsöif sebutedhöif lí vau dhvénamsauv haufrin.
Four bottles of champagne may/might not be enough for the party.

---

A: Chau teshers la cher'ha hömal?
A: Where's the cat?

U: Saur la che tsírbothseb köi haubéf.
U: He may/might be sleeping under the easy chair.

---

a) With the adverbs "gnéthü" and "odu", "perhaps, maybe", the speculative is obligatory:

Odu chö rézöbs lí kfazhach ba kupaz haukalokh.
Maybe the wizard will be able to help you.

Gnéthü vi hengefs la ví rhkefs haunöi.
Perhaps this is not the right time.

Öçek lé chük hüksüch chau zhdörsauv odu hauthen.
Perhaps you left your keys in the kitchen.

Rhöit lík sü vdíomeksüt gnéthü haungeföth.
Maybe they will be granted a stipend.

---

A: Chí vbuls lét vacher'ha nzo höbaz?
A: Where on earth was the merchandise shipped to?

U: Gnéthü síl lét Aberdínsav, arzhö Abdepsav jökfü, haubaz.
U: Perhaps it was shipped to Aberdeen instead of Abdens.

---

b) i) The adverb "mva", encountered earlier in the Questions (I) post, when placed directly in front of the speculative verb, express a conjecture or assumption on the part of the speaker, often rendered in English by "must":

Öçek la Altön abs mva haunöi.
You must be Mr. Altön.

Chí içdimtels lé zövla mva hauleversíth.
The movie must have started already.

Seth lé chö hereçkeshebsöv mva hauknön.
It must have been snowing last night.

ii) The expression "mva hau", a truncated, set version of the assumptive statement, may be used all by itself in a variety of speech registers by the speaker to express presumption. Used gingerly by itself in polite discourse, it indicates that the speaker believes the addressee has something on their mind and invites the addressee to express it. In this instance, it is functioning rather similarly to Japanese はい (hai):

A: Altön abs?
A: Mr. Altön?

U: Mva hau?
U: Yes? (What is it?)

---

(Asha and Ut's conversation appears to Ut to have ended, but Asha remains standing there for several moments)

A: ~~~
A: ...

U: Mva hau?
U: Yes? (What is it?)

---

iii) Tacked on to the end of a statement, it takes on the sense of English "I presume" or "I take it":

Cha helkens la cha dvölans rhashpen nöi, mva hau.
That's the new governess, I presume.

Öçek lé chí chestalsít dlüzçéth, mva hau.
You've cleaned your room, I take it. (otherwise, you wouldn't be racked out on the couch watching TV)

Presumption is dicey business etiquette-wise, so while "mva hau" can indicate genuine interest or concern on the part of the speaker, handled indelicately, it can come off sounding like "What the hell is it now?" or "Yeah, what do you want?", or expressing disdain and condescension. It is again advised that one ascertain that a rapport already exists or has been established with the addressee before rushing in with these types of sentences.

iv) Another use of "mva" with a speculative verb is to make a mild concession or qualification before getting to the real point in the following clause:

Fí la va sfapsat ezga'u mva hausferül, arkfö sí la chí dvelíkelsít hengelít fautail.
I may not know much about art, but I like this painting.

Söb la sí ödnels mva haupsönöi, de söb la sau íalörs zçalíkfoshkör theu éçüé nöi.
He may seem like an old curmudgeon, but he's actually a very good person.

Sak Flaivonapwerinsap Sfönap - Other Example Sentences

Föidh lé ve tögset sfa'u hausíöngévekh.
He/she may not have fixed the car yet.

Fí lí vau vangketheglomsaub pséí hausemethauth, de sí lé sí altenazhölsít chí içfusuníölsív then.
I might not be home for dinner, but I've left a meatloaf in the refrigerator.

Gnéthü odaltha'u sau nders lí chö thkupsöíalebsök haumiçnakh.
Perhaps one day there will be a cure for HIV.

Öçek la chö shíabsöt hengeböt tha'u mva haurhenggeth.
You must be very proud of this accomplishment.

Skom la hengeftö mva hauchtaz, arkfö skom lí helkeftö tfübözh.
You may be having a good time now, but you'll regret it later.

---

A: Sí lí öçkeb shut spuna'u haumöl sho...
A: If I might have a word...

U: Mva hau?
U: Yes?

---

Sí la sík gvadöküchülsích omega-3latöilích ezgaulích íe che jurakuthsen ba bderun haudaikh, arkfö chök ptíbsöp tsoböp la íezh.
1SG-NOM AUX.PRES INDEF.PL fat.acid-ACC.PL omega.3-ACC.PL many-ACC.PL more-AdADJ DEF diet-INSTR PTCL take should-SPEC, but DEF.PL habit-NOM.PL like.that-NOM.PL AUX.PRES develop.slowly
I should probably get more omega-3 fatty acids in my diet, but habits like that change slowly.

(from here)

Sentence 86 of the Snowball Game

Sentence 122 of the Snowball Game

"Cute and dumb"

A brief revisit:

I'll be the aunt.

---

Hengegíau chau radzöntölörsauv sík shajinhakfalíshevílsíng toulíng, ezhdölsíng toulíng, zhö sauk shajinhakfalíchorsaung touraung, chöi shajinhakfalíeskanets la gaiçö hengeveçö hepsönöi:

Agamírs:

Code: Select all

                 Ashevíls	   Éshevíls     Íshevíls		     
Moküthezhdöls    la gamez      lé gamez	  lí gamez     			    
Shövönezhdöls    lat gamez     lét gamez    lít gamez
Gamezhdöls       lak gamez     lék gamez    lík gamez

Néçafömírs:

Code: Select all

                 Ashevíls	   Éshevíls      Íshevíls		     
Moküthezhdöls    la högamez    lé högamez    lí högamez	       			    
Shövönezhdöls    lat högamez   lét högamez   lít högamez 
Gamezhdöls       lak högamez   lék högamez   lík högamez

Noimírs:

Code: Select all

                 Ashevíls	    Éshevíls       Íshevíls		     
Moküthezhdöls    la haugamez    lé haugamez    lí haugamez	       			    
Shövönezhdöls    lat haugamez   lét haugamez   lít haugamez 
Gamezhdöls       lak haugamez   lék haugamez   lík haugamez

[thaen]

This is all fantastic! You are awesome. Not only for you conlanging skills, but also for your presentation and humor.

I'll be looking into this more when I have time, but it looks beautiful!

[Keenir]

Is your "omnial" gender the one usually called "common, epicene, mixed, unknown, or unspecified"?

Yes, it included all of that.

And nothing else?

...and a partridge in a pear tree.

can we use the oyster fork on it?

seriously, excellent work. (I'm catching up on my reading, and this is the top of the list)

[Lao Kou]

I'll be looking into this more when I have time

(I'm catching up on my reading, and this is the top of the list)

Thank you both for the kind words.

...and a partridge in a pear tree.

can we use the oyster fork on it?

saukh chtezçersaur esanafalöraur zhösheraur...
seven swans a-swimming...

[Lao Kou]

Chau Noimírs (II) - The Speculative (II)

Chü Hínabdönöks - Usage

2) In a subordinate clause, the Géarthnuns speculative overlaps with many functions of a Romance language subjunctive. The subordinate clause, retaining its own internal SAuxOV order, is bookended by "gü" at its beginning and "sho" at its end, and in an unmarked sentence, it is embedded in the same place as any predicate:

subject - shléts - gü - subordinate clause - sho - verb

Sí la, gü fökh lé hauftékadiz sho, ren.
I hope he didn't go in vain.

Gentle readers who have taken Romance language courses in English may be familiar with the mnemonic acronym for subjunctive uses, WEIRDO(S), which, despite its limitations, may serve as a useful springboard to describe this facet of the Géarthnuns speculative. Either as an introduction or a refresher, WEIRDO(S) stands for:

Wishes/Wants
Emotions
Impersonal Expressions
Requests/Recommendations/Requiring
Doubts/Disbelief/Denial
Opinions/Ojalá
Speculation

Wishes/Wants:

i) With verbs like "üraf", "want", "kalaf", "would like", and "asheth", "prefer", a subordinate clause in the speculative is required when the subject of the main and subordinate clause is different. If the desired event has yet to happen, the subordinate clause is also in the future tense:

Sí la, gü öçek lí chí chestalsít haudlüzçéth sho, üraf.
I want you to clean your room.

Fí la, gü öçek lí chí chestalsít haudlüzçéth sho, üraf.
I don't want you to clean your room.

Sí la, gü fenfe lí ví chestafsít haudlüzçéth arkfö öçek lí chak ainsach haumílshafözh sho, üraf.
I want you not to clean your room but to rake the leaves.

San la, gü chö ngarebs lí naiata'u hauhíf sho, kalaf.
She'd like the dog to stay outside.

Fap la, gü chö ngarebs lí chö béöbsöv haunadíthauth sho, kalaf.
She wouldn't like the dog to come into the house.

San la, gü vö ngarekhs lí vö béökhsöv haunadíthauth arkfö söb lí naiata'u hauhíf sho, kalaf.
She'd like the dog not to come into the house but to stay outside.

Söb la, gü chaul zhbéörsauzh lí che helkedalthsev hauthauth sho, asheth.
He'd rather his parents come tomorrow.

Söb la, gü vaul zhbéömsauzh lí ve hengedalgsev hauthauth sho, asheth.
He'd rather his parents not come today.

Fökh la, gü chaul zhbéörsauzh lí che hengedalthsev hauthauth sho, asheth.
?He doesn't prefer his parents come today.

Söb la, gü vaul zhbéömsauzh lí ve hengedalgsev hauthauth arkfö rhaur lí che helkedalthsev hauthauth sho, asheth.
He prefers that his parents not come today, but that they come tomorrow.

Other tense combinations between clauses are possible:

Sí lé, gü öçek lé chí chestalsít haudlüzçéth sho, üraf.
I wanted you to clean your room. (I wanted it in the past; you may or may not have done it in the past)

Sí lé, gü öçek lí chí chestalsít haudlüzçéth sho, üraf.
I wanted you to clean your room. (I started wanting it in the past and most likely still do; you have not done it as of now)

Fí lé, gü öçek lé chí chestalsít haudlüzçéth sho, üraf.
I didn't want you to clean your room. (I didn't want it in the past; you may or may not have done it in the past)

Fí lé, gü öçek lí chí chestalsít haudlüzçéth sho, üraf.
I didn't want you to clean your room. (I didn't want it in the past, but I do now; get in there!)

Che hengedalthsev, beth lí, gü öçek lí bethez sauk çörsauch toumnörauch chí içdimtelsíb pséí haugamez sho, üraf.
Tomorrow, they're going to want you to give them thirty florins for the movie.

When the subject is the same for both verbs, there is no subordinate clause, and the two verbs are placed together with the verb-connecting particle "ba":

Sí la chí chestalsít ba dlüzçéth üraf.
I want to clean my room.

Fí la chí chestalsít ba dlüzçéth üraf.
I don't want to clean my room.

Chö ngarebs la chö béöbsöv ba nadíthauth kalaf.
The dog would like to come into the house.

Vö ngarekhs la naiata'u ba íf kalaf.
The dog wouldn't like to stay outside.

Chaul zhbéörsauzh la che hengedalthsev ba thauth asheth.
His parents (would) prefer to come today.

Vaul zhbéömsauzh la ve helkedalthsev ba thauth asheth.
His parents would not prefer/prefer not to come tomorrow.

ii) With verbs like "ren", "hope" and "thef", "wish", a subordinate clause in the speculative is required when the subject of the main and subordinate clause is different. If the hoped/wished for event has yet to happen, the subordinate clause is also in the future tense:

Sí la, gü feg lí ve helkedalgsev haufun sho, ren.
I hope it doesn't/won't rain tomorrow.

Cha dníövöns la, gü chí örhels lí chau böjarsaut haunagöz sho, ren.
The government hopes that its plan revitalizes/will revitalize the economy.

Shtanö sí lí chík ngaibeçölsích chuf sho, sí lí, gü chöi pshilits lí sík söi böskatsöit techetneketöit hauvazh sho, thef.
When I blow out the candles, I will wish that my aunt buys me a pretty pony.

---

A: Géarthtör Salsíb salolsíb sfen chí, öçek la chensat höthef?
A: As the future Miss Géarthtörs, what do you wish for?

U: Sí la, gü che öbelöböhöths lí haumiçnakh sho, thef.
U: I wish for there to be world peace.

---

Several other tense combinations between clauses are possible:

Sí la, gü feg lé vö hereçkeshekhsöv haufun sho, ren.
I hope it didn't rain last night.

Sí la, gü feg la naiata'u haufun sho, ren.
I hope it isn't raining outside.

Cha dníövöns lé, gü chí örhels lé chau böjarsaut haunagöz sho, ren.
The government hoped that its plan was revitalizing the economy.

As hopes which may or may not happen move to wishes that are contrary to fact or highly unlikely, the subordinate clause adds an irrealis adverb, either "ölzdenü" or "vürhí ":

Sí la, gü feg la naiata'u ölzdenü haufun sho, thef.
I wish it weren't raining outside. (but it is)

Sí la, gü feg lí ve helkedalgsev ölzdenü haufun sho, thef.
I wish it wouldn't rain tomorrow. (all signs and consensus indicate that it will)

Sí la, gü feg lé vö hereçkeshekhsöv vürhí haufun sho, thef.
I wish it hadn't rained last night. (but it did)

When the subject is the same for both verbs, the two verbs may be placed together with the verb-connecting particle "ba":

Sí la chau afstírsaut che helkedalthsev ba vízh ren.
I hope to pass the test tomorrow.

Söb la söi böskatsöit techetneketöit ba aurgen thef.
He wishes to get a pretty pony.

yet unlike section i), there is no restriction on using a subordinate clause here:

Che frömareths la, gü seth lí chau afstírsaut che helkedalthsev hauvízh sho, ren.
The student hopes that he passes/will pass the test tomorrow.

Chö zodöbs la, gü söb lí söi böskatsöit techetneketöit hauhaurgen sho, thef.
The boy wishes that he gets/will get a pretty pony.

However, if the same subject in both clauses is a pronoun and it has the same polarity, the subject pronoun in the subordinate clause becomes "thpau", regardless of what it is the main clause:

Sí la, gü thpau lí chau afstírsaut che helkedalthsev hauvízh sho, ren.
I hope I pass/will pass the test tomorrow.

Söb la, gü thpau lí söi böskatsöit techetneketöit hauhaurgen sho, thef.
He wishes he gets/will get a pretty pony.

If the polarity in the two clauses is different, the regular pronouns are used:

Sí la, gü fí lí vau afstímsaut ve helkedalgsev hauthkawakh sho, ren.
I hope I don't/won't fail the test tomorrow.

Söb la, gü fökh lí fü nzçanedsüt fau bnömsaun hauhökfíkh sho, thef.
He wishes he doesn't/won't get a lump of coal.

Emotions:

The subjective nature of emotions does not affect a subordinate clause in Géarthnuns as it does in the Romance languages. The only verb that comes to mind as possibly qualifying is "mferen", "be afraid". The subordinate clause takes the speculative not because of a genuine sense of fear ("mferen" is more about concern and regret), but because of the perceived uncertainty of the prospect in the subordinate clause. An example is placed here just to say an example was placed here:

Sí la, gü seth lí haufun sho, mferen.
I'm afraid it's going to rain.

Impersonal Expressions:

The range of impersonal expressions that take subordinate clauses in the speculative is smaller than those that take the subjunctive in the Romance languages because expressions like "it is necessary", "it is good/bad", "it is rare", and "it is important" are handled elsewhere in Géarthnuns grammar. The overlap does occur, however, with expressions like "it seems", "it is possible", "it is doubtful", where, again, the concern is the inconclusiveness of the statement:

Che helkeths la, gü chau böjars la haurhangekfözh sho, verözh.
It seems that the economy is improving.

Che hengeths la, gü trízh lí cha ansav grubesenav Venétsíasarsauv haukadiz sho, mprekh.
It's possible that we'll be going to Venice next summer.

Che hereçkeths la, gü fenfe lík ví rhkefsív hausemengövezh sho, vléf.
It is doubtful that you'll be paid back promptly.

Requests/Recommendations/Requiring:

These are all treated elsewhere in Géarthnuns. Nothing to see here; the gentle reader may move along.

Doubts/Disbelief/Denial:

Denial is not covered by the Géarthnuns speculative, but doubt and disbelief are:

Sí la, gü faum la vöi içmölíshemedhsöit fítedhöit hauven sho, vlében.
I doubt he/she has my phone number.

Teg la, gü chek zarjövüjehathsep la hauveth sho, taubön.
They don't believe that aliens exist.

Vau tezemams la, gü seth la ngosüeth haunöi sho, övaz.
The doctor doesn't think it's serious.

Opinions/Ojalá:

The "O" is often meant to stand for Spanish "ojalá " which, broadly explained for simplicity's sake, is roughly analogous to expressions like "If only/Would I were..." in English, and as such does not fall under the purview of the Géarthnuns speculative. The lesser used "opinions", though, does. While averring an opinion is certainly possible, it is most often considered presumptuous and undesirable, and so many verbs of thought and opinion like "övaz", "think/believe", and "taubön", "believe", take the speculative in their subordinate clauses, regardless of whether the main verb is negated (overlapping with disbelief above) or not:

Sí la, gü thpau lé sa glomansat haufrinevazh sho, övaz.
I think I('ve) bought enough food.

Fí la, gü sí lé sa glomansat haufrinevazh sho, övaz. // Sí la, gü fí lé fa glomapsat haufrinevazh sho, övaz.
I don't think I('ve) bought enough food.

Chö zodöbs la, gü söik flízütsöip la ba vangaf haukalokh sho, sfa'u taubön.
The boy still believes that some reindeer can fly.

Vö zodökhs la, gü söik flízütsöip la ba vangaf haukalokh sho, sfa'u taubön. // Chö zodöbs la, gü föik flízüdhsöip la ba vangaf haukalokh sho, sfa'u taubön.
The boy still doesn't believe that some reindeer can fly.

Speculation:

As the speculative takes its name from this manifestation of the mood and as the acronym has run out of letters, this will be the catch-all for "everything else". To be sure, verbs of speculation like "buteten", "speculate", "zdhörhaif", "guess", and "sfeliz", "suppose", find themselves here:

Chauk tezemarsaup lé, gü söit lé sü graksün chí öçalsív hausfaikh sho, buteten.
The doctors speculated that he/she died from a blow to the head.

Cha ípwans lé, gü sík böpíuçélítalsíp 867líp la chö hobsöv haumiçnakh sho, zdhörhaif.
The girl guessed that there are 867 hard candies in the jar.

Sí la, gü abs la chí jüraufalsít ba tel haukalaf sho, sfeliz.
I suppose Sir would like to see the wine list.

but a variety of subordinating conjunctions are also placed here. Some always take the speculative mood, regardless of tense or other considerations:

arçíkü - provided that

Arçíkü feg la hengeftö haufun sho, makhlama lí chau çülenstörkfasharsauv ba vangketh kalokh.
Provided that it's not raining now, we can eat dinner at the outdoor table.

Öçek lí, arçíkü thpau lí chau béöbsalufersaut hauvangkath sho, chü içdimtelímarangíksüv ba kadiz akraikh.
You may go to the movies provided that you finish your homework.

öregü - so that

Síl la, öregü skom lí sílít ba sur'hön haukalokh sho, cha géarthnunsan ngga'u möl.
He's speaking to you in Géarthnuns slowly so that you can/will be able to understand him.

Síl lé, öregü skom lé sílít ba sur'hön haukalokh sho, cha géarthnunsan ngga'u möl.
He was speaking to you in Géarthnuns slowly so that you could/would be able to understand him.

bdarho - as long as

Bdarho san lé chaul sförsaum zíauríraum hauthlan sho, fap lé ba förhífaz ba balaf kalokh.
As long as she wore the red shoes, she could not stop dancing.

Söb lí, bdarho öçek lí hereçkeveçö ba bívezh hauganekh sho, helkeveçö ba froman ganekh.
As long as you keep pouring, he'll keep drinking.

zhdanis - although, even if

Zhdanis chí gefröls hengel la réastöl haunöi sho, síl la aukhbrelü bat rhal fsherath.
Although this book is long, it is worth reading nevertheless.

Zhdanis seth lí che helkedalthsev haufun sho, makhlama lí aukhbrelü ba chtaz kalokh.
Even if it rains tomorrow, we can still have a good time.

Others may or may not take the speculative. Géarthnuns may like to use the future tense more often than familiar European languages, but it wimps out with the future in many subordinate clauses, and likes to hedge its bets with the uncertainty of the speculative. As a result, when the conjunctions below deal with futurity, they will often use both the future tense and the speculative mood. However, with present or past events that actually happen, are happening, or have happened, the speculative is not used. Then again, if a may/might (have) interpretation as found in speculative main clauses is required, then the speculative may be used with these conjunctions in the present and past tenses. Illustrative example sentences are not given here because these conjunctions involve additional pieces of grammar which will be addressed in later posts. The curious gentle reader may, however, find usage examples below or in other posts around the forum.

içteshtanö - after
öbsíré - as soon as, once
vaglé - although
vböçü - since, as
puskeshtanö - before
prégvau - until
kríçü - lest, in case that
tersé - although
laushö - since, as

Similarly, analogues to the "-ever" words of English may take the speculative in their clauses, particularly in the present and future tenses. As above, example sentences will be forthcoming when appropriate additional grammar is encountered in later posts, though the curious gentle reader may find usage examples below or in other posts around the forum.

tsovíeths - whoever
tsobíbs - whatever
tsodíns - wherever
gníeftö - whenever
gníelöi - whyever
gníeveçö - however (in whatever way), whatever
gníezhon - however (to whatever extent)

Sak Flaivonapwerinsap Sfönap - Other Example Sentences

Öçek la, gü sí lí chensat haudravnath sho, höhüraf?
What do you want me to do?

Sí la, gü fenfe lé hereçkeveçö ölzdenü haungamath sho, flaní thef.
I really wish you hadn't said that.

Sí la, gü Avézheshesek Héperans cha lé Römbíöfaul Gaékhfersaut chau cha çísansan chí gloralsív haundrikh sho, réchtailith.
I suspect that Professor Plum killed Colonel Mustard in the dining room with a wrench.

Sí la, gü thpau la hautarn sho, övaz.
I think I'm pregnant.

Kríçü chauk övwarsaup lít cha taifunsan chü mörveksüv haumbanashal sho, sí la rhaurauch chü ukörksüv hehathían.
I'm putting the chairs in the shed lest they get blown around the yard by the typhoon.

Sentence 4 of the Snowball Game

Sentence 59 of the Snowball Game

Sentence 129 of the Snowball Game

Conlang Conversation Thread -- Speculating about Géarthtörs

Zeus and the Bee, sentence 3

It seems that...

I hope I wasn't too mean to him.

Why do you think crime is down?

[Lao Kou]

Chau Noimírs (III) - The Speculative (III)

Chü Hínabdönöks - Usage

3) In its third and final lap, the Géarthnuns speculative is used in the protasis of conditional sentences. The most common form of conditional sentence is with the protasis going first, its verb in the speculative, and marked at the end by "sho", the verbal comma:

subject - shléts - predicate - speculative verb - sho

Seth lí che helkedalthsev haufun sho,
If it rains tomorrow,

As the speculative mood already covers the hypotheticality of the protasis, the word for "if", "aim", is considered optional and even superfluous in this context, though certainly possible:

Aim seth lí che helkedalthsev haufun sho,
If it rains tomorrow,

In more elevated styles of writing and prepared speaking, even the "sho" may be dispensed with; the protasis in the speculative and the apodosis in the conclusive (to appear in the next post) are simply juxtaposed:

Seth lí che helkedalthsev haufun,
If it rains tomorrow, (the picnic will be cancelled.)

In conversation, probably out of sheer habit, "sho" is usually included at the end of an if-clause:

A: Makhlama lí che helkedalthsev höçülenstörglozh?
A: Are we going on a picnic tomorrow?

U: Feg lí haufun sho.
U: If it doesn't rain.

If the protasis is embedded within the conditional sentence, however, both "aim" and "sho" are then required:

Chau çülenstörglors lít, aim seth lí che helkedalthsev haufun sho,
The picnic, if it rains tomorrow, (will be cancelled.)

a) If the conditional sentence expresses a factual or logical implication, the protasis may go into the present or past tense:

Seth la hengeftö haufun sho,
If it's raining now, (it's doing the flowers good.)

Seth lé che hereçkedalthsev haufun sho,
If it rained yesterday, (the basement is/will be filled with water.)

b) If the conditional sentence expresses a prediction or hypothesis based on the possible future, the protasis takes the future tense, unlike the English present:

Seth lí che helkedalthsev haufun sho,
If it rains tomorrow, (the picnic will be cancelled.)

Feg lí ve helkedalgsev haufun sho,
If it doesn't rain tomorrow, (you'll have packed your umbrella for nothing.)

c) If the conditional sentence expresses a counterfactual or highly improbable hypothesis, the protasis may take any of the tenses introduced thus far:

Seth la hengeftö haufun sho,
If it were raining now, (it would be doing the flowers good.)

Seth lé che hereçkedalthsev haufun sho,
If it had rained yesterday, (the basement would be/would have been filled with water.)

Seth lí che helkedalthsev haufun sho,
If it rained tomorrow, (the picnic would be cancelled.)

Barring possible context or intonation clues, one cannot anticipate from the protasis alone if the conditional sentence will be counterfactual or not. One must wait for the apodosis shoe to drop, so to speak, and round out the thought. In other words:

Seth lí che helkedalthsev haufun sho,

could be the set-up for either:

If it rains tomorrow, the picnic will be cancelled. or
If it rained tomorrow, the picnic would be cancelled.

d) "Jrünö", "unless", works along lines similar to "aim", though its inclusion is not optional and most often involves changing polarity between clauses:

Jrünö seth lí che helkedalthsev haufun sho,
Unless it rains tomorrow, (the picnic will not be cancelled.)

---

A: Makhlama lí che helkedalthsev höçülenstörglozh?
A: Are we going on a picnic tomorrow?

U: Jrünö seth lí haufun sho.
U: Unless it rains.

---

The protasis with "jrünö" may be embedded within the conditional sentence:

Vau çülenstörgloms lít, jrünö seth lí che helkedalthsev haufun sho,
The picnic, unless it rains tomorrow, (will not be cancelled.)

---

Jrünö seth la hengeftö haufun sho,
Unless it's raining now, (the weather isn't doing the flowers any good.)

Jrünö seth lé che hereçkedalthsev haufun sho,
Unless it rained yesterday, (the basement is/will not be filled with water.)

---

Jrünö seth lí che helkedalthsev haufun sho,
Unless it rains tomorrow, (the picnic will not be cancelled./you'll have packed your umbrella for nothing.)

---

Jrünö seth la hengeftö haufun sho,
Unless it were raining now, (the weather would not be doing the flowers any good.)

Jrünö seth lé che hereçkedalthsev haufun sho,
Unless it (had) rained yesterday, (the basement would not be filled with water.)

Jrünö seth lí che helkedalthsev haufun sho,
Unless it rained tomorrow, (the picnic would not be cancelled.)

As with implicit or explicit "aim", barring possible context or intonation clues, one cannot anticipate from the protasis alone if the conditional sentence will be counterfactual or not:

Jrünö seth lí che helkedalthsev haufun sho,

could be the set-up for either:

Unless it rains tomorrow, the picnic will not be cancelled. or
Unless it rained tomorrow, the picnic would not be cancelled.

More complete examples and explications will be forthcoming in the next post where the conclusive mood will be introduced. Until then, one trusts the gentle reader will appreciate a respite from earlier monsterposts and perhaps enjoy a more readily digestible installment.

Sak Flaivonapwerinsap Sfönap - Other Example Sentences

If that's a Géarthnuns noun, I'll eat my hat.

A Sign from Heaven

[Lao Kou]

Chau Staumírs - The Conclusive

Chü Tubílíbdönöks - Formation

The frilténs which marks the conclusive mood is he-. Except for occasional considerations of emphasis, clarity, or sentence cadence, it is generally not stressed, and is attached to verbs in the same manner as the interrogative and speculative:

Category 1) If the citation form of the verb starts with a consonant, he- is affixed directly to the verb:

he- + citation form

balaf (stop) → hebalaf → hebalaf
vazh (buy) → hevazh → hevazh
kadiz (go) → hekadiz → hekadiz
mölman (sing) → hemölman → hemölman
gvezíökh (catch) → hegvezíökh → hegvezíökh
kshel (beg) → hekshel → hekshel
síuth (thank) → hesíuth → hesíuth

N.B.: As with the interrogative and speculative, care should be taken that a syllabic nasal at the front of a verb doesn't get lost in the shuffle when the conclusive frilténs is added.

nggavökh (kill) → henggavökh → henggavökh : is read he-ng-gavökh [ˌhɛ.ŋˈgavøx] (4 syllables), not heng-gavökh [hɛŋˈgavøx] (3 syllables)
mpril (be annoyed) → hempril → hempril : is read he-m-pril [ˌhɛ.mˈpɾɪl] (3 syllables), not hem-pril [hɛmˈpɾɪl] (2 syllables)
ndezh (cure) → hendezh → hendezh : is read he-n-dezh [ˌhɛ.nˈdɛʒ] (3 syllables), not hen-dezh [hɛnˈdɛʒ] (2 syllables)

Category 2) If the citation form of the verb starts with a vowel, an intermediary héfö is added before he- is affixed to the verb:

he- + -h- + citation form

öf (build) → hehöf → hehöf
uzh (blossom) → hehuzh → hehuzh
éöz (exclaim) → hehéöz → hehéöz
abarön (justify) → hehabarön → hehabarön
öilemiçnakh (survive) → hehöilemiçnakh → hehöilemiçnakh
auçpul (tear) → hehauçpul → hehauçpul
inth (read aloud) → hehinth → hehinth

N.B.: If initial imbe shumatsöin appears in its capacity as consonantal /j/, the verb will pattern as Category 1:

íaswön (be grateful) → heíaswön → heíaswön
íömpeth (separate) → heíömpeth → heíömpeth
íezh (knit) → heíezh → heíezh

If it is working as vocalic /i/, the verb will pattern as Category 2:

ísüél (sprout) → hehísüél → hehísüél
ízhökh (triumph) → hehízhökh → hehízhökh
íkföl (chat) → hehíkföl → hehíkföl

Category 3) If the citation form starts with a héfö, the héfö changes to a ba before he- is affixed to the verb:

he- + -b- + (citation form - initial h)

héf (sleep) → hebéf → hebéf
hombeküzh (weld) → hebombeküzh → hebombeküzh
haz (transport) → hebaz → hebaz
hin (use) → hebin → hebin
hökh (be that) → hebökh → hebökh
haisal (deep-fry) → hebaisal → hebaisal
huth (waft) → hebuth → hebuth

N.B.: Some verbs may simply start with "he", without it being the conclusive frilténs:

hezheshöth (play)：

Chí ösevönadimshalsív söb lí sí pförshalsít Motsartsöis hezheshöth.
He will play a Mozart concerto at the concert. not He will (therefore) play a Mozart concerto at the concert.

herelüzh (sink):

Cha mvöns lé herelüzh.
The boat sank. not The boat (therefore) sank.

As such, their conclusive forms follow the Category 3 pattern:

hezheshöth → hebezheshöth:

Chí ösevönadimshalsív söb lí sí pförshalsít Motsartsöis hebezheshöth.
He will (therefore) play a Mozart concerto at the concert.

herelüzh → heberelüzh:

Cha mvöns lé heberelüzh.
The boat (therefore) sank.

With the three tenses, three voices, and four moods introduced thus far, the verb paradigm now looks like this:

Indicative:

Code: Select all

                 Present	    Past         Future		     
Active           la gamez      lé gamez	  lí gamez     			    
Passive          lat gamez     lét gamez    lít gamez
Dative Passive   lak gamez     lék gamez    lík gamez

Interrogative:

Code: Select all

                 Present	    Past          Future		     
Active           la högamez    lé högamez    lí högamez	       			    
Passive          lat högamez   lét högamez   lít högamez 
Dative Passive   lak högamez   lék högamez   lík högamez

Speculative:

Code: Select all

                 Present	     Past           Future		     
Active           la haugamez    lé haugamez    lí haugamez	       			    
Passive          lat haugamez   lét haugamez   lít haugamez 
Dative Passive   lak haugamez   lék haugamez   lík haugamez

Conclusive:

Code: Select all

                 Present	     Past           Future		     
Active           la hegamez     lé hegamez     lí hegamez	       			    
Passive          lat hegamez    lét hegamez    lít hegamez 
Dative Passive   lak hegamez    lék hegamez    lík hegamez

Chü Hínabdönöks - Usage

Although the conclusive most often occurs in the main clause of a sentence, it is considered "weaker" than the indicative in that it is triggered by, or takes its raison d'être from, an implicitly or explicitly stated subordinate clause that accompanies it. Since the conclusive marks a conclusion, hence its name, or consequence based on something else, it requires more context than a comparable basic indicative statement; if the listener is not aware or made aware, on some level, of what the basis of a clause in the conclusive is, s/he may give the speaker the look of someone who has been hit with a non sequitur.

For example, it's all very well and good to walk into a room and announce, "I don't like cats." in the indicative. It's a little random, sure, but one's listener may take this contextless sentence at face value ("That's nice, dear.") or wait for an explanation ("Care to talk about it?"). If, on the other hand, one places that same sentence in the conclusive, it's like walking into a room and baldly stating, "And therefore I don't like cats." Without an implicit or explicit:

(I was horribly scratched by a cat as a child, and therefore) I don't like cats. or
(If cats eat cute baby birds, then) I don't like cats.

the listener is at a complete loss as the sentence concludes a thought, rather than beginning or expounding on it.

Contextless:

Fí la vauk teshemsauch fautail. /
I don't like cats.

Contextless:

Fí la vauk teshemsauch hefautail. /
I don't like cats.

---

1) As mentioned in the previous post, the conclusive occurs in the apodosis of conditional sentences. The protasis in the speculative mood normally precedes, setting up the condition, and the apodosis follows, expressing the conclusion the speaker has drawn or wishes the listener to draw:

Seth lí che helkedalthsev haufun sho, chau çülenstörglors lít hevnintezh.
If it rains tomorrow, the picnic will be cancelled.

The gentle reader saw earlier that in a writing or prepared speaking style considered crisper, tighter, and more elevated, the "sho" may be left out and the two clauses juxtaposed:

Seth lí che helkedalthsev haufun, chau çülenstörglors lít hevnintezh.
If it rains tomorrow, the picnic will be cancelled.

The explicit word for "if", "aim", may optionally be added at the front of the protasis:

Aim seth lí che helkedalthsev haufun sho, chau çülenstörglors lít hevnintezh.
If it rains tomorrow, the picnic will be cancelled.

If the protasis is embedded, "aim" and "sho" are then required and, like "gü ... sho" seen in a post above, bracket the protatic clause:

Chau çülenstörglors lít, aim seth lí che helkedalthsev haufun sho, hevnintezh.
If it rains tomorrow, the picnic will be cancelled.

More explicit still is a sentence with a conclusive adverb like "jöve", "then", or "gaiçö ", "therefore", in the apodosis:

Aim seth lí che helkedalthsev haufun sho, jöve chau çülenstörglors lít hevnintezh.
If it rains tomorrow, then the picnic will be cancelled.

Aim seth lí che helkedalthsev haufun sho, chau çülenstörglors lít jöve hevnintezh.
If it rains tomorrow, then the picnic will be cancelled.

Chau çülenstörglors lít, aim seth lí che helkedalthsev haufun sho, gaiçö hevnintezh.
If it rains tomorrow, then the picnic will be cancelled.

This type of sentence is seen most often in legal, mathematical, and scientific styles of writing.

a) If the conditional sentence expresses a factual or logical implication, the apodosis may go into the present, past, or future tense:

i) Seth la hengeftö haufun sho, che helkeths la chak flahansach hefözçalípröz.
If it's raining now, it's doing the flowers good.

ii) Seth lé che hereçkedalthsev haufun sho, che hereçkeths lé chak flahansach hefözçalípröz.
If it was raining yesterday, it was doing the flowers good. // If it rained yesterday, it did the flowers good.

iii) Seth lé che hereçkedalthsev haufun sho, chí zarköihals la/lí pöküzçenhail henöi.
If it rained yesterday, the basement is/will be filled with water.

b) If the conditional sentence expresses a prediction or hypothesis based on the possible future, the apodosis, as well as the protasis, takes the future or future perfect tense:

iv) Seth lí che helkedalthsev haufun sho, fí lí ve tögset ba röth hekalokh.
If it rains tomorrow, I won't be able to wash my car.

v) Feg lí ve helkedalgsev haufun sho, öçek lau cha péfuntansat heftédlüraizh.
If it doesn't rain tomorrow, you'll have packed your umbrella for nothing.

c) If the conditional sentence expresses a counterfactual or highly improbable hypothesis, the apodosis may take any of the tenses introduced thus far. In the previous post, it was explained that barring possible context or intonation clues, one cannot anticipate from the protasis alone if the conditional sentence will be counterfactual or not. In the apodosis, the presence or absence of an irrealis adverb, "ölzdenü" or "vürhí ", determines the counterfactuality of the entire sentence. Thus in the following two sentences, the protasis is the same, but the irrealis adverb in the apodosis alters the meaning of the sentence:

Seth lí che helkedalthsev haufun sho, chau çülenstörglors lít hevnintezh.
If it rains tomorrow, the picnic will be cancelled.

Seth lí che helkedalthsev haufun sho, chau çülenstörglors lít ölzdenü hevnintezh.
If it rained tomorrow, the picnic would be cancelled.

Sentences from above given the counterfactual treatment:

i) Seth la hengeftö haufun sho, che helkeths la chak flahansach ölzdenü hefözçalípröz.
If it were raining now, it would be doing the flowers good.

ii) Seth lé che hereçkedalthsev haufun sho, che hereçkeths lé chak flahansach ölzdenü hefözçalípröz.
If it had been raining yesterday, it would have been doing the flowers good. // If it had rained yesterday, it would have done the flowers good.

iii) Seth lé che hereçkedalthsev haufun sho, chí zarköihals la/lí pöküzçenhail vürhí henöi.
If it had rained yesterday, the basement would be filled with water.

iv) Seth lí che helkedalthsev haufun sho, fí lí ve tögset ba röth vürhí hekalokh.
If it rained tomorrow, I wouldn't be able to wash my car.

v) Feg lí ve helkedalgsev haufun sho, öçek lau cha péfuntansat ölzdenü heftédlüraizh.
If it didn't rain tomorrow, you'd have packed your umbrella for nothing.

d) "Jrünö", "unless", works along lines similar to "aim", though its inclusion is not optional and most often involves changing polarity between clauses:

Jrünö seth lí che helkedalthsev haufun sho, vau çülenstörgloms lít hevnintezh.
Unless it rains tomorrow, the picnic will not be cancelled.

If the protasis is embedded, "jrünö" and "sho" bracket the protatic clause, like "gü ... sho":

Vau çülenstörgloms lít, jrünö seth lí che helkedalthsev haufun sho, hevnintezh.
Unless it rains tomorrow, the picnic will not be cancelled.

---

i) Jrünö seth la hengeftö haufun sho, ve gdonögs la vak flahapsach hefözçalípröz.
Unless it's raining now, the weather's not doing the flowers any good.

ii) Jrünö seth lé che hereçkedalthsev haufun sho, ve gdonögs lé vak flahapsach hefözçalípröz.
Unless it was raining yesterday, the weather was not doing the flowers any good. // Unless it rained yesterday, the weather didn't do the flowers any good.

iii) Jrünö seth lé che hereçkedalthsev haufun sho, fí zarköihafs la/lí pöküzçenhaif henöi.
Unless it rained yesterday, the basement is not/will not be filled with water.

---

iv) Jrünö seth lí che helkedalthsev haumözh sho, fí lí ve tögset ba röth hekalokh.
Unless it's sunny tomorrow, I won't be able to wash my car.

v) Jrünö seth lí che helkedalthsev haufun sho, öçek lau cha péfuntansat heftédlüraizh.
Unless it rains tomorrow, you'll have packed your umbrella for nothing.

---

Jrünö seth lí che helkedalthsev haufun sho, vau çülenstörgloms lít hevnintezh.
Unless it rains tomorrow, the picnic will not be cancelled.

Jrünö seth lí che helkedalthsev haufun sho, vau çülenstörgloms lít ölzdenü hevnintezh.
Unless it rained tomorrow, the picnic would not be cancelled.

---

i) Jrünö seth la hengeftö haufun sho, ve gdonögs la vak flahapsach ölzdenü hefözçalípröz.
Unless it were raining now, the weather would not be doing the flowers any good.

ii) Jrünö seth lé che hereçkedalthsev haufun sho, ve gdonögs lé vak flahapsach ölzdenü hefözçalípröz.
Unless it had been raining yesterday, the weather would not have been doing the flowers any good. // Unless it had rained yesterday, the weather would not have done the flowers any good.

iii) Jrünö seth lé che hereçkedalthsev haufun sho, fí zarköihafs la/lí pöküzçenhaif vürhí henöi.
Unless it rained yesterday, the basement would not be filled with water.

iv) Jrünö seth lí che helkedalthsev haumözh sho, fí lí ve tögset ba röth vürhí hekalokh.
Unless it were sunny tomorrow, I wouldn't be able to wash my car.

v) Jrünö seth lí che helkedalthsev haufun sho, öçek lau cha péfuntansat ölzdenü heftédlüraizh.
Unless it rained tomorrow, you'd have packed your umbrella for nothing.

2) If a subordinate clause headed by "vaçte", "because, for", or "vböçü" or "laushö ", "since, as", precedes the main clause (which in Géarthnuns would be most of the time), the main clause takes the conclusive:

Vaçte sí la öçket söl (sho), sí lé sü zíester'haumarangíksüt hepan.
I robbed a bank because I love you.

or

Sí lé, vaçte thpau la öçket söl sho, sü zíester'haumarangíksüt hepan.
I robbed a bank because I love you.

or

Sí lé sü zíester'haumarangíksüt, vaçte sí la öçket söl sho, hepan.
I robbed a bank because I love you.

---

Vböçü fö wasakhs la miçnakh (sho), trízh lí sü élpangeksüt ba hin hedaikh.
Since there's no wasabi, we'll have to use horseradish.

or

Trízh lí, vböçü fö wasakhs la miçnakh sho, sü élpangeksüt ba hin hedaikh.
Since there's no wasabi, we'll have to use horseradish.

or

Trízh lí sü élpangeksüt, vböçü fö wasakhs la miçnakh sho, ba hin hedaikh.
Since there's no wasabi, we'll have to use horseradish.

---

Laushö pantala lé sfa'u hebeföl (sho), chí gnaröls lít chí gílsív grubeselív hebrésngal.
As we have yet to reach an agreement, the decision will be postponed until the next meeting.

or

Chí gnaröls lít, laushö pantala lé sfa'u hebeföl sho, chí gílsív grubeselív hebrésngal.
As we have yet to reach an agreement, the decision will be postponed until the next meeting.

or

Chí gnaröls lít chí gílsíb grubeselíb rho, laushö pantala lé sfa'u hebeföl sho, hebrésngal.
As we have yet to reach an agreement, the decision will be postponed until the next meeting.

3) Certain adverbs trigger the conclusive, whether in the conclusive clause itself on in the adjoining clause:

gaiçö - so, thus, therefore

Fí la ba kadiz üraf, gaiçö fí lí hekadiz.
I don’t want to go, so I won’t.

gníeftö - whenever

Sí la che shírethset hengethet gníeftö haushal sho, sí la chö béöbsöt helkebü hembeth.
Whenever I hear this song, I think of home.

zvöchai - not until, only after, only then

Shtanö chük flanaksüp fanfeküp löi híau palenguf sho, san lé öre ba shuvaz zvöchai hebözh.
Not until/Only after all the guests had left did she sit down to rest.

rhösa'u - too (much)

Seth le rhösa'u, gü feg lév ba shkeföz hekalokh sho, oishtön.
It was too cold to go swimming. (= It was too cold for one to be able to swim.)

rhté ... rhté ... - the more ... the more ...

Söb la rhté glozh, söb la dhüb rhté hezçenöi.
The more he eats, the fatter he gets.

hírheu - so

Chí zhwögels lé vgul hírheu, gü Íöhaps lé fífít ba lomatruzh hekalokh sho, nöi.
The suitcase was so heavy that John couldn’t lift it.

And occasionally:

mvaçtö - that’s why (offers an explanatory tone to an utterance)

Söb la sí ösfandíls nöi ... Söb la zhdebuheb mvaçtö henöi.
He's an artist ... That's why he's eccentric.

4) The verb "namakotröl", "explain", takes the conclusive in a subordinate clause:

De, che hereçkeths la, gü öçek la chelöi hehöslen sho, namakotröl.
Well, that explains why you’re late.

5) i) For gentle readers who may have wondered back in Questions (I) what was happening in exchanges like this:

A: Chau helkers la sau furs hönöi?
A: Is that a pen?

U: Shau, saur la he. // Glé, faum la he.
U: Yes, it is. // No, it isn't.

this is where the "he" hails from (and probably the first syllable of the three demonstratives as well).

ii) "mva" rears its head again in the expression "mva he", indicating that the speaker is unreceptive to any further discussion. Not to be used lightly among people who are not solid acquaintances, its meaning covers a range including "That's that/final."; "There you go/are."; "Period."; "I told you so."; "I don't want to hear it."; "Talk to the hand.":

A: Fí lé va péfuntapsat va hengesegepsav heth, kfö sí lét gaiçö cha hengerhínsav ksa hebdurhöz.
A: I didn't take my umbrella this morning, so (unfortunately) I got soaked this afternoon.

U: Mva he.
U: Well, there you are./You were expecting...?

---

Fenfe la ba kadiz akraikh, mva he.
You're not going, and that's final. (lit.: You're not permitted to go...)

Sak Flaivonapwerinsap Sfönap - Other Example Sentences

Jrünö sí lí ksa hauthkawakh sho, fí la ba esma'ul heten.
Unless I am to fail, I must study.

Makhlama lé cha thrönsav ngarethfíthev zvöchai hevangketh.
We didn’t have dinner until nine o’clock.

Hereçkeftö söb lé zvöchai hepaçíen.
Only then did he understand.

Söb lé hírha'u, gü söb lé pétü heshöl sho, fthían.
He was so moved that he even cried.

Söb lé azöna'u hírhon, gü fí lé fökhöt ba sur'hön hekalokh sho, möl.
He spoke so quickly that I couldn't understand him.

---

Sí lí, aim thpau lí che íthsev mnézça'u ba jurbözh hauhakraikh, kfö fí lí vö ölgíkhsöt tfosa'u ba ígröf haukalokh sho,
1SG-NOM AUX.FUT, if 1SG-NOM AUX.FUT DEF throne-LOC at.all.costs-ADV PTCL sit be.permitted-SPEC, and 1SG-NOM.NEG AUX.FUT DEF.NEG position-ACC.NEG complete-ADV carry.out be.able-SPEC PTCL,
I would be remiss in fulfilling my obligations and staying true to my conception of the royal office

chauk nlaversauch ba aurgez kfö chö díbögíbsöt che gdöithset sítethet ba knédöz ksa vürhí hepsökh.
DEF.PL duty-ACC.PL PTCL fulfill and DEF kingship-ACC DEF conception-ACC 1SG.POSS.ADJ-ACC PTCL honor "unfortunately"-ADV irrealis-ADV lack-CONCL
were I to stay in my position at all costs without being able to fully assume my responsibilities.

(from here)

---

The mats smell bad...

Three moronic sentences

Boys only want love if it's torture.

Conlang Conversation Thread -- On Catching Cold

Conlang Conversation Thread -- On Wearing Glasses

Conlang Conversation Thread -- On Sleeping and Conlangers

Conlang Conversation Thread - Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road?

Conlang Conversation Thread -- On the Ganj'

Conlang Conversation Thread -- On Visions of Charon

Sentence 123 of the Snowball Game

Sentence 191 of the Snowball Game

Sentence 220 of the Snowball Game

Sentence 235 of the Snowball Game

Signs from Heaven

Lexember 13, 2014

Lexember 29, 2014

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Hengegíau chau radzöntölörsauv sík shajinhakfalíshevílsíng toulíng, ezhdölsíng toulíng, zhö sauk shajinhakfalíchorsaung sebuteraung, chöi shajinhakfalíeskanets la gaiçö hengeveçö hepsönöi:

Agamírs:

Code: Select all

                 Ashevíls	   Éshevíls     Íshevíls		     
Moküthezhdöls    la gamez      lé gamez	  lí gamez     			    
Shövönezhdöls    lat gamez     lét gamez    lít gamez
Gamezhdöls       lak gamez     lék gamez    lík gamez

Néçafömírs:

Code: Select all

                 Ashevíls	   Éshevíls      Íshevíls		     
Moküthezhdöls    la högamez    lé högamez    lí högamez	       			    
Shövönezhdöls    lat högamez   lét högamez   lít högamez 
Gamezhdöls       lak högamez   lék högamez   lík högamez

Noimírs:

Code: Select all

                 Ashevíls	    Éshevíls       Íshevíls		     
Moküthezhdöls    la haugamez    lé haugamez    lí haugamez	       			    
Shövönezhdöls    lat haugamez   lét haugamez   lít haugamez 
Gamezhdöls       lak haugamez   lék haugamez   lík haugamez

Staumírs:

Code: Select all

                 Ashevíls	    Éshevíls       Íshevíls		     
Moküthezhdöls    la hegamez     lé hegamez     lí hegamez	       			    
Shövönezhdöls    lat hegamez    lét hegamez    lít hegamez 
Gamezhdöls       lak hegamez    lék hegamez    lík hegamez