Test Sentences, 18

Continuing with Gary’s list:

37. You must write more neatly.

Oh my. Writing. I am not sure if the people who speak sodna-lÉ›ni even have writing. If they do, it is a specialist skill. And since this sentence is especially about the physical skill of forming letters, I think I will use mÉ›h-aŋi as the verb for turning ink into letters, or writing.

So, ink. That’d be a class III, motile plural (’cause it is a liquid), so syetɨdi would be the proper form. Letters would also be class III, and in the sessile plural (multiple letters), so ɨlkɨni. This gives us syetɨdi mÉ›haŋi ɨlkɨni so far.

“You” would be the source in this case, and in the motile singular ŋidi.

“More neatly” is the adverb mɨdeya modified by no “more”.

And “must”…. “Must” will work like “should”, except with ka.

37. ŋidi syetɨdi mÉ›haŋi ɨlkɨni mɨdeya no dÉ›stÉ› ka.

You must make ink into letters more carefully.

In Kēlen:

37. ñarra jīlki ānen ankēλa nā cī;

Questions?