Category: Conlanging

Continuing with Gary’s list:

124. The baby clapped her hands and laughed in glee.

This is constructed like yesterday’s sentence, with two clauses joined by na. The verb duso, when prefixed with eya means to bring two things together.

124. kyɨbe ma kunna edustɛ na pilileya mɛddustɛ andabalya dɛstɛ.

Questions?

Continuing with Gary’s list:

123. The crow dropped some pebbles into the pitcher and raised the water to the brim.

More damn birds! A tutu is a flying reptile or large flying insect. I haven’t decided. But it is big enough and strong enough to carry some pebbles (or small rocks) and to drop them into a cup and cause the water to move up to the edge.

123. tutu amba kidɨdi ɨsɨdi otni kyute tadya na gada nokɨtti gaba olaya dɛstɛ.

Questions?

Continuing with Gary’s list:

122. The first part of the story is very interesting.

Hmm. The story’s first part sits very interestingly (if a general observation that is expected to be true of everyone). Or: [To] me, the story’s first part comes very interestingly (IMHO). Yeah, the latter.

122. lene tene ha dabateya andaneya ono takteya no bala.

Questions?

Continuing with Gary’s list:

121. A company of soldiers marched over the hill and across the meadow.

OK. No soldiers. Let’s use a group of hunters kɛddɨn ha ɛdanna. And “marching” is a manner verb, and manner just isn’t important. Sorry. Over the hill and across the meadow can be handled with a serial predicate construction, and both would use the adverb alamya prefixed to tɨŋi

121. kɛddɨn ha ɛdanna alamotni lɛnɛ alamotni mɨŋi dɛstɛ.

Questions?

Continuing with Gary’s list:

120. Toward the end of August the days grow much shorter.

Days grow shorter. Hmm. Days grow longer could be done with eyevi, which is evi prefixed to remove an otherwise required source. Now how do I do the equivalent (remove an argument) from ɛmɛmɛ? Let’s see. I’ve already used A eyɛmɛ D to mean that A is made out of D, so that’s out. But I have no use for mɛhɛmɛ, indeed I’ve disallowed it. Well, scratch that, here’s a good use for it. So: lonɨdi eyevi goɬi “days get longer” and lonɨdi mɛhɛmɛ usi “days get shorter”. You might recognize goɬi as the adverb “for a long time” or “for some time”. usi would be “for a short time”.

And then we will use a serial predicate: days approach the end of the season and grow much shorter.

120. lonɨdi notɨŋi bɨlɨs da gada mɛhɛmɛ usi no.

Questions?

Continuing with Gary’s list:

119. He played a tune on his wonderful flute.

This uses evi and the flute is a sessile source while ‘he’ is a motile source.

119. syɨŋyan gɛkɛdɛ mava syɨme tavi dɛstɛ.

Questions?

Continuing with Gary’s list:

118. I am tired, but very happy.

Another use of badi and of esɛdɛ.

118. lene sɛdɛ ŋute esɛdɛ andabal badi bala.

Questions?

Continuing with Gary’s list:

117. Come with your father or mother.

And here is where I am glad that “or” uses a completely different structure than “and”/”with”.

117. susi ŋidi baŋi sobanɛn baŋi madanɛn ono ki.

Questions?

Continuing with Gary’s list:

115. Is this tree an oak or a maple?
116. Does the sky look blue or gray?

And “or” uses baŋi, previously seen as “which”, making questions.

115. da mɛdɛ sɛdɛ baŋi atad baŋi sɛnɛt dɛmɛ?

116. ŋi doŋi kɛɬɨdiya ono baŋi uŋahɨdiya baŋi delɨdiya dɛmɛ?

Questions?

Continuing with Gary’s list:

114. He is small, but strong.

But? But. I hereby decree that “but” requires a serial predicate. And the adverb badi “unexpectedly, but-ly”.

114. mava sɛdɛ ɨsa sɛdɛ kɨtɬɛ badi dɛstɛ.

Questions?