Test Sentences, 8

Continuing with Gary’s list:

  1. Once wild animals lived here.

Well, “wild animals lived here” is a simple sentence. However, “live somewhere” as in dwell is one of those concepts that tends to be idiomatic in other languages. Of course, I already sort of came up with this in the Babel text, using

ɛlɛna mesɨdɛn mɛhaŋi dɛspi.

ɛlɛna
S
person.MTpl
mesɨdɛn
A
plain.MTsg
mɛh-
ADV-
out
aŋi
V
aŋi.IMP
dɛspi
D
settlement.SSpl

The people make settlements on the plain.

The adverb mɛya, when prefixed to aŋi means that D dɛspi is made out of A mesɨdɛn. However, for this sentence we are going to use ko “home” instead of dɛspɛdan “settlement”, which means that “here” is essentially the subject of the SL sentence, and “wild animals” is the source.

Regarding “here”, the usual word is susi, but susi cannot be used as a subject of a sentence. 🙁 But, there is another word, sota “place” which can be used. It is a class IV abstract noun, so the motile singular is soteya. We might even make it more specific, saying deya soteya “this place”.

The word for animal is paki, pakina in the motile plural. It can mean any kind of animal, including pets, so we need the adjective “wild” to modify it. That would be gyɛttaɬ, making pakina gyɛttaɬna the source, deya soteya the subject, mɛhaŋi the verb, and ko the destination. Now all that is left is that pesky “once”.

“Once” to me implies that either the animals lived here long ago, or that however long ago it was, it will not happen again. The adverb tilɛnya mostly sort of covers that. Plus, we need the evidential dɛstɛ to explain how we know this.

24. pakina gyɛttaɬna deya soteya mɛhonnɨt ko tilɛnya dɛstɛ.

pakina
animal.MTpl
gyɛttaɬna
wild.MTpl
deya
this.MTsg
soteya
place.MTsg
mɛh-
out
onnɨt
aŋi.PRF
ko
home.SS
tilɛnya
once-long-ago
dɛstɛ
REP

Wild animals once made home(s) here. (I’m told)

In Kēlen:

24. iēlte ñatta jamāra þō ā japāci;

iēlte
once
ñ
NI
-atta
3Ppl.A
jamāra
home
þō
here
ā
A
japāci
wild animals

Wild animals once lived here.

Questions?

Test Sentences, 7

The next three sentences in Gary’s list concern more rain:

  1. The rain has stopped.
  2. Soon the rain will stop.
  3. I hope the rain stops soon.

21. tadna otni bodna.

tadna
rain.MTpl
rain
otni
tɨŋi.PRF
moved to
bodna
finished.MTpl
finished

bodna is an adjective. The construction N tɨŋi ADJ means that the N becomes ADJ.

22. tadna tɨŋi bodna galaba tɛlɛ.

tadna
rain.MTpl
rain
tɨŋi
tɨŋi.IMP
move to
bodna
finished.MTpl
finished
galaba
soon
soon
tɛlɛ
INF
I infer

tɛlɛ is the inference evidential. One could also say tadna tɨŋi bodna galaba dɛstɛ. “Soon the rain will stop (I’m told).”

23. lene kyɛsinɛn sɛdɛ tadna tɨŋi bodna galaba.

lene
1p.MTsg
I
kyɛsi
hope.SSsg
hope
=nɛn
COM
with
sɛdɛ
sɛdɛ.IMP
be vertical
tadna
rain.MTpl
rain
tɨŋi
tɨŋi.IMP
move to
bodna
finished.MTpl
finished
galaba
soon
soon

sɛdɛ is one of the three verbs to be. Its subject is something with a strong vertical configuration, like a person. Its subject can be either motile or sessile, which is why kyɛsi stays sessile. All of the to be verbs can take a clause in the destination slot, which refers to one of the subjects, in this case kyɛsi.

In Kēlen:

21. ñi antārranni antōrreni;

ñi
NI
antārranni
rain
antōrreni
stopped

22. anniþen ñi antārranni antōrreni rēha;

anniþen
soon
ñi
NI
antārranni
rain
antōrreni
stopped
rēha
FUT

23. sele jacēxa ien anniþen ñi antārranni antōrreni rēha;

sele
SE+1SG.BEN
jacēxa
hope
ien
that
anniþen
soon
ñi
NI
antārranni
rain
antōrreni
stopped
rēha
FUT

Questions?

Test Sentences, 6

The next three sentences in Gary’s list concern rain:

  1. It’s raining.
  2. The rain came down.
  3. The kitten is playing in the rain.

Rain is tadan, another class II noun, but with a singulative suffix, so really tadan is ‘raindrop’. In the collective/plural, it is tadna.

Falling is motion downwards, using tɨŋi. With rain, the downwards part can be left off.

18. tadna tɨŋi.

tadna
rain.MTpl
rain
tɨŋi
tɨŋi.IMP
moves

19. tadna tɨŋi tadya.

tadna
rain.MTpl
rain
otni
tɨŋi.PRF
moved
tadya
downwards
downwards

I said that tadya was no longer prefixable, but I think it will be possible to simply say tattɨŋi (tad+tɨŋi) and mean “It’s raining”, literally “it’s moving downwards”. Any other usage of tadya with tɨŋi, though, requires the formations above.

20. gyɛdɛ iddɨse eyaŋi tadnavi.

gyɛdɛ
game.SSsg
game
iddɨse
kitten.MTsg
kitten
e-
in
in
aŋi
aŋi.IMP
move about
tadnavi
rain.SSpl
rain

aŋi means to move to a large, diffuse destination. Prefixed with aŋi, it means to move about in a location (here, the rain). gyɛdɛ ‘game’, in the source slot and sessile, is indicating a purpose for the rest of the sentence. So the kitten is moving about in the rain for the purpose of a game.

In Kēlen:

18. la antārranni;

la
LA
antārranni
rain

19. ñi antārranni rājatā;

ñi
NI
antārranni
rain
rājatā;
to+down

20. ñi jatūmse jajēren sū antārranni;

ñi
NI
jatūmse
tūmse
jajēren
playful
at
antārranni
rain

“The tūmse is playful in the rain.”

Questions?

Test Sentences, 5

My friends' new kitten Whiskey.

The next three sentences in Gary’s list have kittens:

  1. The kitten jumped up.
  2. The kitten jumped onto the table.
  3. My little kitten walked away.

I have to confess that as much as I love cats, the Kēleni don’t have them. 🙁 I have not yet decided if the people who speak sodna-lɛni have cats as pets, but I think they will, by fiat. Even if it ends up not making sense. OK, so a word for cat and for kitten. Class II with the other animals….

idɛl for ‘cat’ and iddɨse for ‘kitten’. Those are motile singular forms.

Jumping is motion upwards, using tɨŋi.

15. iddɨse otni olaya.

iddɨse
kitten.MTsg
kitten
otni
tɨŋi.PRF
moved
olaya
upwards
upwards

16. iddɨse otni tɛbɛ olaya.

iddɨse
kitten.MTsg
kitten
otni
tɨŋi.PRF
moved
tɛbɛ
table.SSsg
table
olaya
upwards
upwards

tɛbɛ ‘table’ is the destination. Destinations are always sessile.

17. leneya iddɨse ɨsa pɛstɛ.

leneya
1P.SSsg
from me
iddɨse
kitten.MTsg
kitten
ɨsa
little.MTsg
little
pɛstɛ
pɛsi.PRF
moved away

In sodna-lɛni one would only specify ‘my’ in contrast with ‘yours’ or ‘his/hers’ or such. So I left it out of 17. And we have a third verb: pɛsi which means to move away from a required source. Since source is grammatically required, I added one, making “The little kitten moved away from me.” And it is in the sessile to denote that I didn’t send the kitten away. I am just another location in this sentence. Sources in previous sentences were motile, implying a degree of agency.

In Kēlen, using tūmse for the pet:

15. ñamma jatūmse rajōl;

ñamma
NI+3SG.A
jatūmse
tūmse
rajōl
to+top

16. ñamma jatūmse ra jatēwa ōl;

ñamma
NI+3SG.A
jatūmse
tūmse
to
ra
table
jatēwa
up
ōl

17. ñamma jatūmse rūjapēxa;

ñamma
NI+3SG.A
jatūmse
tūmse
from+[here]+away
rūjapēxa

Test Sentences, 4

The next four sentences in Gary’s list have people shouting:

  1. All the people shouted.
  2. Some of the people shouted.
  3. Many of the people shouted twice.
  4. Happy people often shout.

And they have quantifiers!

People is a class II noun, and since it is the source in all 4 sentences, it’ll be in the motile plural form ɛlɛna. The shout, though, is a class IV noun, also in the motile plural: umɨdiya. Shouting uses the same verb as shining, evi, because with shouting, the noise is moving out in all directions, just as with shining.

11. nadna ɛlɛna umɨdiya tavi bala.

nadna
all.pl
all
ɛlɛna
person.MTpl
people
umɨdiya
shout.MTpl
shouts
tavi
evi.PRF
moved out
bala
NVS
(I heard it)

12. amba ɛlɛna umɨdiya tavi bala.

amba
some
some
ɛlɛna
person.MTpl
people
umɨdiya
shout.MTpl
shouts
tavi
evi.PRF
moved out
bala
NVS
(I heard it)

13. aŋo ɛlɛna umɨdiya tavi iyɛnɛ bala.

aŋo
many
many
ɛlɛna
person.MTpl
people
umɨdiya
shout.MTpl
shouts
tavi
evi.PRF
moved out
iyɛnɛ
twice
twice
bala
NVS
(I heard it)

14. ɛlɛna andabalna umɨdiya evna ɨnavi dɛstɛ.

ɛlɛna
person.MTpl
people
andabalna
happy.MTpl
happy
umɨdiya
shout.MTpl
shouts
evna
evi.ITR
move out habitually
ɨnavi
often
often
dɛstɛ
REP
(I’m told)

sodna-lɛni has evidentials. The visual evidential is zero marked, which is why they haven’t appeared until now. The visual evidential is for things one knows because one has seen or witnessed the information in the sentence. bala is for things one knows because one has heard, smelled, or otherwise sensed, but not actually seen, the information in the sentence. Shouting would involve hearing rather than seeing, so it is the appropriate evidential for 11-13. But the statement that happy people often shout is one of those things that is generally learned from an authority of some sort, so it uses the reported evidential dɛstɛ.

In Kēlen:

11. tatta jarūlōn ke mēli nāra;

satta
SE.PAST+3PC.SRC
jarūlōn
shout
ke
SRC
mēli
people
nāra
all

12. tatta jarūlōn ke mēli pē;

satta
SE.PAST+3PC.SRC
jarūlōn
shout
ke
SRC
mēli
people
some

13. tatta jarūlōn ke mēli nā il ēnne;

satta
SE.PAST+3PC.SRC
jarūlōn
shout
ke
SRC
mēli
people
many
il ēnne
twice

The paucal source and singular shout in 11-13 says that the people shouted together at the same time.

14. saxxa jarūlōni ke mēli mālni;

saxxa
SE+3PL.SRC
jarūlōn
shouts
ke
SRC
mēli
people
mālni
happy

Test Sentences, 3

The next set of sentences in Gary’s list are still discussing the sun:

  1. The sun shines brightly.
  2. The bright sun shines.
  3. The sun is rising now.

OK, sentence 8 adds an adverb, 9 an adjective. 10 is another time distinction, and a change of subject (in sodna-lɛni anyways).

8. loho logɨdiya evi loya.

loho
sun.MTsg
from the sun
logɨdiya
light.MTpl
light
evi
evi.IMP
is moving out
loya
brightly
brightly

9. loho lo logɨdiya evi.

loho
sun.MTsg
from the sun
lo
bright.MTsg
bright
logɨdiya
light.MTpl
light
evi
evi.IMP
is moving out

The adjective lo is modifying loho because a) adjectives follow nouns, and b) it’s also in the motile singular.

10. ala loho tɨŋi olaya.

ala
now
now
loho
sun.MTsg
sun
tɨŋi
tɨŋi.IMP
is moving
olaya
upwards
upwards

Look, a new verb! tɨŋi is actually the most basic verb in sodna-lɛni. It means to move (along a path) possibly towards a destination, possibly with a point of origin, but neither of those things are required.

olaya is a directional adverb. In my published grammar, I say that directional adverbs can be prefixed to the verbs. I have decided that olaya and tadya “downwards” can no longer be prefixed. The others still can.

ala is another time adverb, and generally appears in the source slot.

In Kēlen:

8. la anlōki anlūi;

la
LA
anlōki
sunlight
anlūi
bright

“The sunlight is bright.”

9. la malō malū;

la
LA
malō
sun
malū
bright

“The sun is bright.” Kēlen doesn’t have adverbs, just adjectives.

10. āl ñi malō rājōl;

āl
now
ñi
NI
malō
sun
rājōl
to the top

“The sun is rising now.”

Test Sentences, 2

The next set of sentences in Gary’s list are:

  1. The sun shone.
  2. The sun will shine.
  3. The sun has been shining.
  4. The sun is shining again.
  5. The sun will shine tomorrow.

OK. More tense and aspect distinctions. sodna-lɛni doesn’t actually distinguish tense (this is an experiment on my part), which means that there is no difference in 3 and 5.

3|5. loho logɨdiya tavi.

loho
sun.MTsg
from the sun
logɨdiya
light.MTpl
light
tavi
evi.PRF
ceased moving out

4. loho logɨdiya evi dɛga.

loho
sun.MTsg
from the sun
logɨdiya
light.MTpl
light
evi
evi.IMP
is moving out
dɛga
FUT
in the future

6. loho logɨdiya evi iyɛ iyɛ.

loho
sun.MTsg
from the sun
logɨdiya
light.MTpl
light
evi
evi.IMP
is moving out
iyɛ iyɛ
again
again

7. loho logɨdiya evi dɛga lannal.

loho
sun.MTsg
from the sun
logɨdiya
light.MTpl
light
evi
evi.IMP
is moving out
dɛga
FUT
in the future
lannal
tomorrow
tomorrow

tavi is the perfect form of evi.

dɛga is the future modal, and it denotes certainty in one’s prediction.

iyɛ iyɛ and lannal are both time adverbs.

In Kēlen, again 3 & 5 are the same:

3|5. te anlōki;

la
LA.PAST
existed
anlōki
sunlight
sunlight

4. la anlōki rēha;

la
LA
exists
anlōki
sunlight
sunlight
rēha
FUT
in the future

6. la anlōki ī;

la
LA
exists
anlōki
sunlight
sunlight
ī
again
again

7. la anlōki lānnāl;

la
LA
exists
anlōki
sunlight
sunlight
lānnāl
tomorrow
tomorrow

(And, yes, the words for ‘tomorrow’ in both languages are related.)

Test Sentences, 1

The first two sentences in Gary’s list are:

  1. The sun shines.
  2. The sun is shining.

Now, for me, the difference between the two sentences is that the first is in the habitual and the second is in the progressive. OK. No problem. sodna-lɛni makes that distinction:

1. loho logɨdiya evna.

loho
sun.MTsg
from the sun
logɨdiya
light.MTpl
light
evna
evi.ITR
moves out iteratively

2. loho logɨdiya evi.

loho
sun.MTsg
from the sun
logɨdiya
light.MTpl
light
evi
evi.IMP
is moving out

logɨdiya is the class IV noun meaning ‘light, rays of light’ in the motile plural. It’s the subject of both sentences.

loho is the class II noun meaning ‘the sun’ in the motile singular. It acts as the source or point of origin for the subject. It can be motile because class II nouns are higher up in the animacy hierarchy than class IV nouns.

evi is the verb in use. It means that its subject is moving out in all directions from a grammatically required point of origin. In the first sentence evi is in the iterative, and in the second, the imperfect.

In Kēlen, the two sense are conflated and the easiest way to express the concept is in the sentence:

1|2. la anlōki;

la
LA
exists
anlōki
sunlight
sunlight

I’m back!

Since I last posted on December 16, 2011, I have moved house, settled into a new job, and created a new language. Yes, me, the “one conlang is enough for me” woman, has created a new conlang. What can I say, these things happen.

This is how it happened: I read a blog post online about brain imaging, and then thought about having a language that expressed motion better than Kēlen does (which admittedly can’t be that hard, Kēlen doesn’t really express motion very well at all.) What I ended up with is a language that talks about direction and journeys between endpoints and makes extensive use of path metaphors. The appendix of this document has the original email exchange with David, version 1 of the language (now called sodna-lɛni), and a short history of the development of the language. Under Future Developments, I wrote:

More vocabulary. Think about modality, quantifiers, adjectives. Work through Gary Shannon’s list of sentences.

So that’s what I am going to do here: work through Gary’s sentences. In sodna-lɛni, and maybe in Kēlen, too. To that end, I am changing the name of this blog to something more generic.