Thursday, 23 December 2010

Thropoi Phonology

The phonology of Thropoi is pretty standard, with one or two exceptions.

Consonants


p b t d th k
p b t d θ~ð k

f v w s z sh zh
f v w~ʋ s z ʃ ʒ

m n l r j
m n* l r** j

* <n> is /ŋ/ before k
** <r> is /ɹ/ when not followed by a vowel

Vowels


a á o ó i í
ɐ a ɔ o ɪ i

u ú ü e é ë
u y ʏ ɛ e *

The last vowel is the most interesting. It is generally not pronounced. You could consider it a mix between a glottal stop and a /ə/. For instance, "darëthi" ('my') is pronounced [dɐɹθɪ], [dɐɹəθɪ] or [dɐrəθɪ]. The combination "të ... të" would be [tə ... tə] in most cases.

When a vowel is followed or preceded by an ë, the ë is omitted. E.g. 'mano'+'ëth' > "manoth" ('I have'). When there is a word break in between, the ë remains visually, but is not pronounced. For instance, "atë átallëth" ('and I eat') would be [ɐ:ta:tɐlθ].

Alternatively, you could write the <ë> as <'>. For instance "at' átallëth" or even "at' átall'th".

Wednesday, 22 December 2010

Thropoi

Thropoi is the (temporary?) name for my new 'artlang' (artistic language). It is derived from the first word that sprang to mind when coming up with this lang, which was "thropos". It means 'bull', though I'm not quite sure what effects that has on the meaning of 'Thropoi'.

Anyhow, let's look at a couple of sentences I assembled:
Anthonos sín darëthi prádo. Tas mano vesem mannin akot shánide. Tasta të tamen të rapu etet nají Frankarërne, jatem ain rutarevt.
It's supposed to mean the following:
Anthony is my friend. He has a great house near the sea. His mother and father went to France, but have not returned.
 Let's disect that, shall we?

  • Anthonos - "Anthony" [name, masc. nom. sg., o-base] from Anthonos
  • sín - "is" [verb, 3rd sg. act., present simple, indi.] from sín
  • darëthi - "my" [pronoun, general possessive sg., consonant-base] from dar
  • prádo - "friend" [n., general predicative sg., o-base] from prádo
  • tas - "he" [pn., masc. nom. sg., a-base] from tas
  • mano - "have" [v., 3rd sg. act., present simple, indi.] from mano
  • vesem - "house" [n., neuter acc. sg., c.-base] from ves
  • mannin - "big" [adjective, neut. acc. sg., o-base] from manno
  • akot - "near" [preposition]
  • shánide - "sea" [n., neut. locative sg., o-base] from sháno
  • tasta - "his" [pn., masc. poss. sg., a-base] from tas
  • të - "and" [conjunction] (always appears in pairs or groups)
  • tamen - "mother" [n., fem. nom. sg., e-base] from tamen
  • të - "and" [conjunction]
  • rapu - "father" [n., masc. nom. sg, u-base] from rapu
  • etet - "went" [v., 3rd pl. monovalent, past simple, indi.] from eta
  • nají - "to" [preposition]
  • Frankarërne - "France" [nm., neut. lative sg., c.-base] from Frankar
  • jatem - "but" [conjunction]
  • ain - "not" [adverb]
  • rutarevt - "have returned" [v., 3rd pl. mon., present perfect] from rutaro
Phew, that's quite a list.

As you might have noticed, Thropoi has a lot of different conjugations: there are 4 genders, 13 cases, 4 numbers and 5 bases (leaving you with 1040 noun-conjugations), 3 tenses, 3 aspects, 4 voices, 8 persons and 8 moods (resulting in 2304 verb-conjugations, although some are impossible).

This is of course on purpose. The aim of this particular lang is purely art; I want to have a language that one can only interpret and produce with a dictionary at hand. Where my other langs are often quite simple, this is a language that is ridiculously complex, just for the sake of it.

Wednesday, 15 December 2010

Hwong Zheng word order

As there are no affices in Hwong Zheng, word order is very specific. Basically, every sentence is divided as such:

[Subject] [Verb] [Object] [Additionals]

Where the additionals can be prepositional phrases and adverbs.

Adjectives always follow the noun they belong to. A noun and an adjective are often interchangeable.
Only articles can be placed in front of the noun.

When a segment consists of more than two elements, it is closed by repeating the first word.
If, for instance, a noun is followed by two adjectives, the noun is repeated afterwards to close the group. 
If a preposition is followed by a noun with an adjective, the preposition is repeated.

When repeating, the first half of the syllable, i.e. the consonant and semi-vowel, are omitted. In two-syllable words, only the last syllable-half remains.

E.g.:

Rwoung than dzheu 'oung -- Slave dead three (slave) -- Three dead slaves
Shoun ley syuung 'oun -- House near river (house) -- The house near the river
Wou reng zhing 'ou -- With child ten (with) -- With ten children
Ang wou dzyin hieng 'ou pwen myan 'ang -- Man with knife gold (with) clothed black (man) -- A man with a golden knife wearing black

Hwong Zheng Phonology

Hwong Zheng, the Tsang language, is a syllable based language; most words consist out of one or two syllables that follow a consistent pattern:

(C) (J) V (N)

C
p, t, d, k ,g, h
p, t, d, k, g, h

r, f, l, m, s, z
r, f, l, m, s, z

sh, zh, th, ts, dz, tsh, dzh
ʃ, ʒ, θ, ts, dz, tʃ, dʒ

J
y, w
j, w

V
e, a, o, oo, i, ie, uu, ou, eu
ɛ, a, ɔ, o, ɪ, i, y, u, ø

N
n, ng, y
n, ŋ, j

Standard romanisation above, IPA below.

There are no conjugations or affices, nor any way to distict a verb from a noun without looking at its context.

Tuesday, 14 December 2010

Kyeung Kwey Wou An Mieng

This is my 'altlang' (alternative conlang) Hwong Zheng in action: it's a story about a small king. It's dreadfully moralistic and as such does not completely make sense.

I will tell you more about this language at a later stage; for now, enjoy.


Kyeung Kwey Wou An Mieng ‘Ou ‘Eung

Suun kyeung kwey ryedeng zhing ‘eung lwan pang dong thie poung than ‘ie pye hwan lwoo. Dien sahon dyeng tshong heng pa hon ‘eng rie yon pyien tweun pwen myan ‘eun twahon suun ang wou hakoung ‘ien. Yon kwen an ‘on shuun hon kwondan. Hon pyeng «Dien ang akyang. Dien ang fang tshong zuung. Dzhen poung thie geu myoon ‘ie pyeng dien ang meu than ‘eng.» ‘eng.
Yiepeng, kyeung kwey dzien tshong zhang hieng. Rwoung dan zhang hey yon. Reng pezan wou zhang rie hieng lang rwou shyen zhang adan ‘en. Yon kwen an ‘on shuun hon kwondan. Hon pyeng «Dien zhang hieng an. Shyen adan rie shyen gwen hieng.» ‘eng. Kyeung kada pyeng «Shyen ang fang zuung. Shyen ang akyang. Dzhen shyen meu than.» ‘eng. Hon kawoundan pyeng «Myoon, twahon dien rwoung ‘ahon thyouy an.» ‘eng. Mey yon tyoo an. Dzhen yon pwen myan ‘on thing rie shyen than.
Yiepeng, kyeung kwey dzien tshong dyeng woung. Yon dzien ong tagay ong haylou mwoon ong pay shieng ong syuung tsay. Rwoung woung tyang dan yon dzien ‘an an rie dzhen woung than. Kyan woung yon pezan wou dien ‘an hin rie woung than. Lwing woung yon dzien dien ‘ing koushang yon an rie woung than.
Lwoo, pyan mey ong kyeung kwey ong hon kwondan ‘an tshong than. Yon kwen an ‘on shuun hon kwondan. Hon pyeng «Geu myoon pyeng pyan akyang. Dzhen pyan than. Myoon, twahon pyan ‘ahon thyouy an.» ‘eng. Kyeung kada pyeng «Geu shyen pyeng an. Geu shyen thyouy an. Geu shyen fang zuung hey tse hon. Geu shyen akyang.» ‘eng rie hon kwondan than.
Lwoo, pyan mey kyeung kwey ‘an thsong than. An dan hey yon rie an pezan wou yon rie an koushang yon. Kyeung kwey mayon ‘eung lwan mieng an.

The Little Emperor With No Friends

Really, a long time ago, an emperor of ten got his dead father’s power. He was walking through our city and he saw someone wearing black kill a man with an axe. Because he did not understand, he asked his great advisor. He said: “This man is a criminal. This man did bad things. Therefore Your Loveliness’ father said that this man must die.”
Later, the little emperor wanted a golden sword. A servant gave him the sword. The child played with his sword and the gold fell off this iron sword. Because he did not understand, he asked his great advisor. He said: “This sword is not golden. It is only iron and it only looks golden.” The furious emperor said: “This man does bad things. This man is a criminal. So he must die.” The great advisor said: “Loveliness, killing this servant would not be smart.” But he did not listen. So the one wearing black came and the man was dead.
Later, the little emperor was wanting lots of things. He wanted a tiger and an enormous statue and thousands of dogs and a river of tea. Many servants could not give him what he wanted and therefore many were dead. Many boys with whom he played, won and many were dead. Many girls whom he wanted, did not kiss him and many were dead.
Really, all but the little emperor and the great advisor were dead. Because he did not understand, he asked his great advisor. He said: “Your Loveliness said all were criminals. Therefore, all are dead. Loveliness, killing all was not smart.” The furious emperor said: “You yourself said nothing. You yourself are not smart. You yourself acted bad towards me. You yourself are a criminal,” and the great advisor was dead.
Really, all but the little emperor were dead and the little emperor had no friends. Noone gave him anything and noone played with him and noone kissed him. The sad little emperor had no friends.

Redone Blog

I've redone the Lurion blog into this new 'Conlangs' blog.

This way, I will also be able to post things about my other conlang creations.

I have reorganised the tags into "Content" (pun intended), "Lurion", "Grammar" and "Phonology". All old 'grammar' posts have been labelled 'lurion grammar', etc.

Saturday, 11 December 2010

Hasmo and Rodas

This is the myth of Hasmo (the god of beauty, youth and nature) and Rodas, his fatal love.

  1. Ἁcмο ευzαрιтαтιο αнтрωπωc тeωcκε eрαπzοтα δυнιнου. 
  2. Aφαнтεн αмφιαннοнтιο eδeαιι цιδιππει Uтυмαр εн αнтрωπειc. 
  3. Διι ποᴧεc, αυт нιc eмεнι δοрιтeрιι ὁι ἑδε δοрιιгε ὡн ὁι. 
  4. Διι ᴧeнειεc ὑттαрεcκε, αυт нιc eмεнι. 
  5. Aрβαυмεн δεδιοнтιο, αмφιтωнтιο нιтωc φαυнιωc, δυнιнυ 
  6. eεκιι αυт eмειнεнι δeυ φeᴧιтαιн υπтα ἑοπωнтιο Рωδαοн. 
  7. Aгрιο ὑцεнο, δοрιтαтιι Ἁcмου ειδεтωнтιc, αнтαгεнι мεκεc. 
  8. Aφαнтεн αмφιαннοнтιο αιcтωc εκαмβι e ᴧοмιωн αδнαιι. 
  9. “Καᴧυ,” φι αнтαгοнтο, “нιтι’ ἑᴧecι’κε.” Cυнαмβωнтιεc 
  10. Рωδαc eβαβι e Ἁcмο αυδαcκι cαφтιεc ᴧοгεc мυтεcκε. 
  11. Єυтιεc εтαрec гεнεc e Uтυмαр тιδιει καᴧει eцιδιδι οрα e δeα. 
  12. Тιδει Рωδαc καcтрιδι αφαнтεн δeαπeнειοнтιο e тιδει “ουнα” αнαᴧeгεтα. 
  13. Καᴧει Рωδαc Ἁcмοι eᴧeгι: “Cε φeᴧιω.
  14. Єι мε φeᴧιιc, цαтαυн нε δeαπeнειιc?” 
  15. Καᴧει Ἁcмο Рωδαοι eᴧeгι: “Cε φeᴧιω.
  16. Єι мε φeᴧιιc, цαтαυнгε δeαπeнeω? 
  17. Δοрιтαтιιн мε αнтрωπωc тeωcκε φeᴧιιc ποιᴧιтeрιωн? 
  18. Καccαрιтαтιιн мε αнтрωπωc тeωcκε φeᴧιιc οιгιтeрιωн?” 
  19. Aυт ῾eι нοκтει тeιнтου ὑπнωнтιου αφαнтει βαᴧιцωн ειδι
  20. οιοι αнтрωπιc αнтαгεтωнтιι φeᴧου e δeου οιδαтεн δοрιοн καccαрιοнцε. 
  21. Ἁcмου ευzαрιтαтιου αнтрωπωc тeωcκε eрαπzοтα ευzαрου.

  1. Hasmo, most handsome of humans and gods, was torn apart by loneliness.
  2. Wearing a cloak all around, he descended on his vidippis (hippogriff) Utumar (Goodheart) amongst the humans. 
  3. He went to the cities, but noone was more beautiful than he, or as beautiful as he.
  4. He went to the plains and the seas, but noone was (there). 
  5. Having went to the forest, being surrounded by his animal friends, the loneliness
  6. left, but the need to be loved stayed, until having gazed at Rodas. 
  7. The young farmer (~), most beautiful which Hasmo sees, is herding his goats.
  8. Wearing his cloak all around, he walks out of the shadows and slowly comes closer. 
  9. “’Day,” says the herder, “nice ‘nd sunny.” Walking together,
  10. Rodas smalltalked and Hasmo listens carefully to his soft stories and tales. 
  11. They become good friends and Utumar flew every single day up and down.
  12. Every time Rodas asks to take down the cloak, and every time he is answered “no”. 
  13. One day, Rodas said to Hasmo: “I love you.
  14. If you love me, why don’t you take it down?” 
  15. That day, Hasmo said to Rodas: “I love you. 
  16. If you love me, why would I take it down? 
  17. If I were the most beautiful of humans and gods, would you love me more? 
  18. If I were the most badlooking of humans and gods, would you love me less?” 
  19. But one night he looked under the cloak of the little sleeping god,
  20. merely a human driven by love and a need to know if he was beautiful or ugly. 
  21. By Hasmo’s beauty, most handsome of humans and gods, he was torn apart. 

Saturday, 20 November 2010

Poem: Тεκнαтαιн Тαнαтου

Ι've written a poem in Lurioneski, called Тεκнαтαιн Тαнαтου (The Birth of Death)

---

Καᴧει κοᴧα ᴧeгι δεcποι:
"Cαр! Cαр, cαр! Cαр, гυнα cαрου!
Тε-тε-тεκнαιн тεκнιн гυнα!
Тα-тα-тαнαтαтιн тεκнι!"
Ἁнтрα: "Є, нε κᴧαιοтι, ε.
Καcκιтαтυ цαтιε гнι?
Цαтεн ᴧeгι? Тιc тαнαтι?"
"Тεκнιc, тεκнιc, αυт нε, ουнα,
тεтαнαтι ὡн αнтрωπιc.
Тeειc, παιδο мнι Тαнαтο!"


Ὁ гεгεнοнтιο cαπтεc
cκαzι ειδεтωнтεc ὁπευ:
cмικрεc e παтεтεc φαυнωc,
αнтεc αрαxнεcκε гeει.
Uπтα δeκδυιωc αннωc:
κυнαн, καтοн, υᴧικεc δцαc,
cιнεκαн e φрαтрοн αυтου.
Δυοδeκεc гεгεнι e
ποιεрιδοнтιο αᴧδι
υπтα δeнωc δεδαтα ὁн.

---

One day a maid says to her master:
"Sir! Sir, sir! Sir, our wive!
The giving be-be-birth to a child of your wive!
She gives birth to the most de-de-dead!"
The man: "Oh, don't weep, oh.
What terrible disaster happens?
What do you say? Who dies?"
"The child, the child, but not, no,
has it died like a human.
By the gods, the child is Death!"


He, having become seven,
crushed what was seen by his eyes:
the small and pitiful of animals,
ants and spiders on the ground.
After twelve years:
a dog, a cat, two of his age,
an old woman and his own brother.
He had become twenty and
stopped working
when, after his parents, being given himself.


---

It's something of a trochaic tetrameter: the verse is as such:
καᴧει κοᴧα ᴧeгι δεcποι
cαр cαр cαр cαр гυнα cαрου


Also, both halfs consist out of a 4-3-3 combination: in the first piece, they divide the three direct speeches; in the second piece, three stages of his age.

It's pretty ridiculous, I know.

Tuesday, 2 November 2010

Tintin

Here!
Tintin is awesome.

Other than that, I wanted to tell you I had translated the first page of "Tintin and the Black Gold" some time ago, but now have scanned the page and actually rewritten the speech bubbles. It looks a bit fake and/or messy, 'cause, well, it is.
Please forgive me.

To go to the page, simply click the link beneath the miniature:

Sunday, 24 October 2010

Every Coin

Тιδιε xрεcмιнтε ἱ δακрεн.

Every coin have.3sg back.acc.
Every coin has a backside.

I've come up with my first Lurion proverb. It implies that every fortunate event can (but not necessarily must) be accompanied by a catch. When said to someone who is about to buy something or make some sort of deal, it is a warning that he or she must also look at the consequences and make sure it is not a scam; when someone notices that you or your deeds are not perfect, it can be used as a "that's life" apology.

Because the common people do not often use money, a more 'fitting' and of course more vulgar expression has come into existence: 
Тιδιι zωιc ἱ δακрεн. 
It literally means "Every animal has a backside," but "every animal has a behind / an arse" is obviously implied. In this context, the fortunate event is represented by a productive animal, whereas the catch is the feces and indirectly its food consumption.
However, it can also be used to state that everyone is but a human and therefore has his own flaws. It can be chanted whilst rebelling against an arrogant king; it can be exclamated when one is being punished for a mistake.

Tuesday, 12 October 2010

Busy

Єυтιε Καтαᴧυ!

And, ευтιε αнιδαᴧυ!, as I will turn 17 tomorrow. (Yay!) I am not planning on doing anything spectacular; we'll go out for dinner sunday and I've invited some of my friends for some movies and games on monday the 25th (busy schedules, I guess).

Cαφтυ ἁπтιφου ειοрι Cтрeπαн ευмοнει πрοрωнтιαн.

Softness pillow.gen cause.3sg Strepa.acc happiness.dat purr.prt.f.acc.
The softness of the pillow made Streepje purr with happiness.

It was Animal Day last week, and I thought my cats needed and deserved a new scratching post. It goes without saying, they were thrilled to bits. While one was sitting on it, the other thought it was an opportune moment to sharpen her nails and set her claws into her sister's behind; an act that was not much appreciated.

Πрοрοιн is of course an onomatopoeia, as well as мαυαιн ('to meow'). Also, the two Faias in cαφтυ ἁπтιφου have some onomatopoeiic value, I guess.

In spite of all the festivities, I think this might be one of the last Katalus. At least for a while. My other hobbies, gaming and gamemaking, are demanding too much time. I'm really getting a feel for online StarCraft 2, I've got one game to finish, one immense project to continue work on, and another to start. Not to mention the new Call of Duty coming out next month. Posting something weekly has appeared to be too much of a hassle. I might be posting irregularly just the same, but I can not make any promises.

Hail cats!

Tuesday, 5 October 2010

Rrrrrelax

Єυтιε Καтαᴧυ!

I thought the picture I made today didn't cut it, so I cheated and took one I made earlier. Noortje looks much cuter as well.

Єι рωтοрeιc ειδεcεн καδυнцε, δειнυтαι Нοртα тεтαррωнтιαн e οрαрωнтιαн.

If turn.trans.coni.2sg image.acc head.acc-or, appear.3sg Norta be_scared.pf.prt.acc and jump.prt.acc.
If you turn the picture or your head, Noortje seems to be scared and jump.

With some imagination, she does. But having straightened your head, she turns back to chillaxin' on a soft summer day.

-цε is the suffix form of ἑδε. Just like e and -κε, -цε is a bit 'closer' than ἑδε. ῾Єδε often states two distinct options (e.g. φυгεтι ἑδε ὁπιтι, "flee or fight"), whereas -цε might indicate two alternatives with practically little difference (e.g. - well, just look at the sentence above).

There's an unusual amount of Рοα's in the sentence, by the way. Pωтοрεтαррοрαрο. 

Ррррр.

Wednesday, 29 September 2010

Wow.

Єϝтιε Mεтακαтαᴧυ!


What's that? A new letter?

Λυмοειн ὑπнεειнκε βωειтει ἁϝтιιϝ οφтιтeрιει. Єϝ ουрυ.

Lie.inf sleep.inf-and couch.dat self.gen old.comp.dat. Good life.
"To lie and sleep on a couch older than yourself. That's life." 

It is. Well, the Waua only appears in some dialects, such as the one seen above. It's some proto dialect, as it features unassimilated forms (-οειн instead of -οιн) and ancient noun conjugations (-ιϝ instead of -ου).

I have started writing down my grammar and collecting it all, as it seemed some rules were only on this paper, and other collocations can only be found on that webpage. Also, I have been working out the proto-languages' vowel assimiliation, as well as vowel elision.

Tuesday, 21 September 2010

Cupboard Utopia

Єтι Καтαᴧυ!

I've been working on some diachronics of some sort; it started with noun conjugations, but I will develop it to a couple of dialects. I'll probably put some of those into my conworld. You might just see something about all this sometime soon.

Δακрι мнεc xтωнc εмοнε οᴧβκε?

Back.dat is.3pl lands happiness.gen wealth.gen-and?
Are there lands of happiness and wealth on the other side?

Noortje was quite jumpy at that moment. Strolling across my table as if I weren't trying to get something done on my pc. I guess she noticed it was almost time for dinner, demanding some extra attention in the meantime.

And yes, both the ευтιε καтαᴧυ and The Sentence were written in a dialect of some sort. This one was created after first applying 'elesion' and then 'contraction'. Well, I haven't worked that out, really.

Wednesday, 15 September 2010

Afternoon Philosophy

Єυтιε Mεтακαтαᴧυ!

Whoops. Well, it's just that Tuesday is a really busy day for me. On tuesdays, I have to go to school from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Of course I could (and should) do it in the two ours either before or after dinner, but when I haven't got plenty of time, it simply slips my mind. Got carried away playing StarCraft 2 and finishing the campaign. So yeah, I just forgot again.

"Eᴧeгι Cωκрαтιc αнтрωπιн мεнοнтιιн cωмαтεн ἑδε ουрιδрεн ἑδε δυεc? Mει αрοιι. Є, ευ.

Say.pst.3sg Sokratis human.acc be.prt.acc body.acc or soul.acc or both.acc? Me.dat is_forgotten.3sg. exclam, good.
"Did Sokrates say that the human is the body, the soul or both? I forgot. Oh, well."

Isn't she just enjoying that postsummer sun? She looks so undisturbable. I can hardly imagine that anything other than that sentence is running through her head.

It features an interesting construction: мει (α)рοιι. It literally means "to me it is remembered" or if negated "forgotten".
Also, ὲ is simply an exclamational thingy. It shows lack of importance or interest.
(For your information, he said it was the soul.)

Wednesday, 8 September 2010

Mea Culpa

Єυтιε Mεтακαтαᴧυ!


I forgot to post a καтαᴧυ yesterday. Whoops. Mea culpa.

U̔φαрιωc δрοιнтωc αδнα εнιδειc βрαмтαнοнтιωc ὑπнωнтα αнαᴧδοрεтα.

Autumn.adj.gen drop.gen at windows.dat strike.imp.prt.gen sleep.prt.f non-interrupt.pass.3sg.
The sleepster is not being interrupted by the autumn raindrops bombarding the windows.

Yeah, summer has ended and it has started raining again over here. Not that the weather usually is spectacular here in Holland, but still. Arriving at school completely soaked is never pleasant. But luckily, Noortje doesn't seem to care. I really like the word βрαмтαιн, by the way; I think it covers the meaning pretty well. It's a bit onomatopoeic, I guess.

Oh, and to make up for my mistake: another ευтιε καтαᴧυ!

Єυтιε Mεтακαтαᴧυ!


(Ain't that something?)
Єι Cтрeπα ᴧeωнιc мεнeι, αυтрιωн ποιeι нεн.

If Streepje lion be.conj.3sg, other.adv do.conj.3sg nothing.acc.
If Streepje were a lion, she would do nothing different. 

Нεн sounds odd/funny. It's nice and short. "Цαтεн ποιιc?" "Нεн." (or "нεн!", "нεн..?" οр "нὲὲн." depending on the circumstances.) The only thing my cats do more than I, is sleep. Well, that and spending time outside, maybe. 

Tuesday, 31 August 2010

Cave Felicem

Єυтιε Καтαᴧυ!


This picture is taken after Noortje smelled the whipped cream I had to move around the room, because Streepje was trying to enjoy more of it than the fingertip I gave her.

Цαᴧтε δειнυтωн αцεнοрιεc, καтec οικιεc δυнαc нουтαιн ειнιωн ὡc мαтει.

Although seemingly non-hurt.adj, cats home.adj can kill.inf only.adv their cuteness.dat.
Although seemingly harmless, domestic cats can kill with merely their cuteness.

I really run out on inspiration on this picture, so I made up this completely and utterly serious sentence. 'Cause don't think they can't. They just don't have a reason to. One meow is all it takes.

Friday, 27 August 2010

Verbal Vowel Assimilation (part 2)

Let's take a look at the verb stems alone:

Indi.: мεн-, нοιмε-, οιδα-, παнxο-, δεικн-
Con.: мεнe-, нοιмe-, οιδά-, παнxό-, δεικнύ-
Opt.: мεнε͂ι-, нοιмε͂ι-, οιδᾶι-, παнxο͂ι-, δεικнῦι-

There are five different verb types: verbs without a thematic vowel and ε-, α-, o- and υ-thematic verbs. υ-thematic vowels do not appear in the indicative.

In the coniunctive, the thematic vowel is prolongued. ε>e; α>ά; ο>ό, υ>ύ.
Verb stems without a thematic vowel get an -e- added.

In the optative, -ε͂ι- is added to the verb stem.

Thursday, 26 August 2010

Verbal Vowel Assimilation

As a response to yesterday's comment, I will run through the examples given their again, this time with pre- and post-assimilation forms.

If you haven't read seen the TALVAC yet, please 'tab' it as a reference.

The Lurioneski verbs have the following suffices for person and number:

1sg (I)
2sg (you) -ὶc
3sg (he) -
1pl (we) -ὸмα
2pl (you) -ὶтε
3pl (they) -εc

For instance, "I am" is мεнω and "you are" (pl) is мεнιтε.

However, most verbs also have a thematic vowel, which is either -ε, -α, -ο or -υ.
Ignoring the last one (as it is a rather tricky one), they assimilate as usual, meaning they combine with other vowels (in this case those of the verb suffices).

ε+ω > ω; ε+ὶ > ε͂ι*; ε+ὸ > ω; ε+ε > ε
E.g.: нοιмεὶc > нοιмε͂ιc ("you name"); нοιмεὸмα > нοιмωмα ("we name").

α+ω > ῶ; α+ὶ > ὶ; α+ὸ > ῶ; α+ε > α
E.g.: οιδαω > οιδῶ ("I know"); οιδαὶтε > οιδὶтε ("you know" (pl)).

ο+ω > ω; ο+ὶ > ὶ; ο+ὸ > ω; ο+ε > ο
E.g.: παнxοὶ > παнxὶ ("he eats"); παнxοεc > παнxοc ("they eat");

Got it? Great, 'cause it only gets harder.


The Optative is quite easy. It just puts -ε͂ι- between the verb root and the suffix. But again, the vowels assimilate (when possible).

ε+ε͂ι > ε͂ι; α+ε͂ι > ᾶι; ο+ε͂ι > ο͂ι;
E.g.: οιδαε͂ιω > οιδᾶιω ("may I know"); παнxοε͂ιεc > παнxο͂ιεc > παнxο͂ιc ("may they eat").


The Coniunctive does something tricky. When verbs have a thematic vowel, it lengthens it, causing it to assimilate differently. (When there is no thematic vowel, it simply puts -e- in between.) Let's take the same examples as before, but this time in the coniunctive:


e+ω > eω; e+ὶ > eὶ; e+ὸ > eὸ; e+ε > e
E.g.: нοιмeὶc > нοιмeὶc ("you could name"); нοιмeὸмα > нοιмeὸмα ("we could name").

ά+ω > άω; ά+ὶ > άὶ; ά+ὸ > άὸ; ά+ε > ά
E.g.: οιδάω > οιδάω ("I could know"); οιδάὶтε > οιδάὶтε ("you could know" (pl)).

ό+ω > όω; ο+ὶ > όὶ; ό+ὸ > όὸ; ό+ε > ό
E.g.: παнxόὶ > παнxόὶ ("he eats"); παнxόεc > παнxόc ("they eat");


There is no visual distinction between the indicative 3pl and coniunctive 3pl of a verb (e.g. between παнxοc and παнxοc), as accents are rarely used. They are pronounced differently: [pɐnxɔs] and [pɐnxos] respectively.

(* I changed this one, but the chart still says ε+ὶ > ὶ.)

So there you have it.

Tuesday, 24 August 2010

Coniunctive and Optative

Єυтιε Καтαᴧυ!

Hell, it's about time.

"Єι καтec тυрαιc, мεнειι ουрυ мου κᴧαccιтeрιεгε."

If cats rule.opt.3p, be.opt.3s life my nice.comp.n-stress.
"If cats would rule, my life would be even nicer."

Today's sentence features the brand new* Optative.

(*When I say new, I mean 'new to you'; also, it's not completely new:)

What used to be the Coniunctive has been split into two modi: the (new) Coniunctive and the  Optative; leaving us with a total of 3 different modi (including the Indicative):

Indicative
мεнω, διc, нοιмι, δεικнοмα, παнxιтε, οιδαc
мεнοнтιι, нοιмωнтιι, παнxωнтιι, οιδωнтιι
The Indicative is used to state facts and other things that seem to be undeniable.

Coniunctive (+ε, +e)
мεнeω, δάιc, нοιмeι, δεικнυοмα, παнxόιтε, οιδαc
мεнeοнтιι, нοιмeοнтιι, παнxοοнтιι,  οιδαοнтιι
The Coniunctive is used to describe possibilities, uncertainties or irrealities.

Optative (+ει)
мεнειω, δαιιc, нοιмειι, δεικнυιοмα, παнxοιιтε, οιδαιc
мεнειοнтιι, нοιмειοнтιι, παнxοιοнтιι, οιδαιοнтιι
The Optative is used declare wishes, goals or unfortunate irrealities .

The katalu sentence is of course an example of the last of the optative's functions. She obviously is well aware that cats don't rule the world, but if they would, life would kick-ass.

Monday, 23 August 2010

Διυ εнтрα Λυрιοнαιc (part 6)

I have redone my lexicon, it is now a neat Excel file, filled with fancy colours, origins and references. I really like it.

Also, I've written another paragraph of Pavsanio's story; this time he has just reached Naupila.

---

Єн Нαцπιᴧαн мεᴧᴧω мεтα εκтωc καᴧωc διεн нυгιнтεн e ιω Cαтυрιυ, ἁтει cαтυрec мεнεc "ευтιεcгε αυт нε ἁнεтιεcгε Cαтυр". Єυтαтιιн οιω Φαcтυмαрο Καнοκтια, цαᴧтε οιгιεc нυгιнтεc υxειc нε мει нιтεтαc. Єυмοнιι нαцειει εнтрαмβω οπнοнтιι мeгιεcгε нцαтεc, ἁтειc нαцπιᴧec πeнιδεc καрιzε εмβιрκε мοцει e ᴧeωнεc πφαнтεcκε φαcει. Λecαιι καтιc мeгιι нε ειειδεтωнтιι, ὡнтιι εκрοπтεн αᴧβιεн e мακрεc καнιεc.

In Naupila I seek, after a journey of six days, some humour and go to the Saturiu (Satyrium),  where the comedians are "as good but not as hairy as Satur". I think Fastumaro from Kanoktia is the best, although some jokes about the northerlings are not enjoyed by me. Joyful I walk through the docks, eyeing the very large ships, with which the Naupilans take cinnamon and ginger from the east and lions and elephants from the west. A large cat which I have never seen, passes me, having white fur and black stripes.

---

Satur is a βαᴧιцοнтeιc (i.e. halfgod) as well as a мεκαнтεр, what we call a satyre. That is why the comedians are said not to be as hairy. He is the subgod of (dark) humour, infamous for pranking unsuspecting travelers in the woods.

I should continue work on my map, e.g. adding the villages named in Διυ, as well as think about what countries surround the lurionas. I also have an enormous island to toy around with. I will probably create some more daughter languages of Lurioneski as well.

Friday, 13 August 2010

PC Back!

Yay!

I've finally gotten my pc back from repairs. I have to reinstall a lot, such as keyboard layouts and whatnot, but I hope to be back in business in no time. After all, I am also planning to redo the way I store my lexicon, which is now a messy wordpad file.

Wednesday, 21 July 2010

Please Stand By

I was unable to post an ευтιε καтαᴧυ yesterday due to technical problems (i.e. immense pc failure) and I am using another pc to post this. My computer shuts off at random (i.e. whenever I'm doing something important and/or just before I hit 'save'). When I tried to post this on the Device from Hell, it shut down on me twice in 20 minutes.

You might be wondering, "then why don't you get a new pc?" Well, that's the irony. This is a new pc. We bought this to be rid of the problems of our previous computer. "Then why don't you get it back to the store?" We did. With, apparently, little effect. Well, it worked for maybe a couple of months, but now it doesn't. It has shut off 10 times in the last week.

We will probably send it back again, but the problem is, I've got a game to finish within two weeks, plus next week StarCraft II hits the stores. And the last time, it took them over a month.

Hopefully, they'll just let us trade it in with one that does work.

Monday, 19 July 2010

Word Emphasis

I replied to a forum topic on the difference between defining and non-defining clauses; I thought it might be interesting to share.

Παнтιεc ιοᴧтυιн αδυнωнтec δec εκιειн.
All.ADJ dance.INF NEG-can.SUBST must leave.INF.
All who can't dance must leave.

Παнтec ιοᴧтυιн αδυнωнтιεc δec εκιειн.
All dance.INF NEG-can.ADJ must leave.INF.
All, who can't dance, must leave.

Here, the difference is made by switching noun/adjective, as adjectives can most often be omitted. In both sentences the inability to dance results in to the necessity to leave.

Φυαнтω мου ᴧυβрεc παнтιεc ειειᴧεтωнтιεc.
Sell.1SG my books all.ADJ read.PRF.PASS.ADJ.
I'm selling all my books which I've read.

Φυαнтω мου ᴧυβрεc παнтιεc, ἁтεc ειειᴧω.
Sell.1SG my books all.ADJ, which read.PRF.1SG.
I'm selling all my books, which I've read.

The emphasis is often on the last part of the sentence or word group, thus on ειειᴧεтωнтιεc in the third and on παнтιεc in the last sentence.

One could place the emphasis on many different words:
Φυαнтω ᴧυβрεc παнтιεc мου. - I sell all my books (not yours).
Φυαнтω παнтιεc мου ᴧυβрεc. - I sell all my books (but I'm keeping my films).
Παнтιεc мου ᴧυβрεc φυαнтω. - I sell all my books (I'm not just throwing them out).
As you might have noticed, participial constructions are an immense part of Lurion. They're what makes it unique, actually. Well, at least I haven't seen many other languages that use them so frequently.

Tuesday, 13 July 2010

Kalfsvleeskroketten

Єυтιε Καтαᴧυ!

Today, I will show you a picture of a box of "kalfsvleeskroketten". I have absolutely no idea why Streepje would jam herself into such a small box, let alone enjoy it.

"Ουнα, мεнω нε φαιнрιε παнxрιнтε; цαтαυн?"

No, be.1sg not meat.adj.n food.dim; why?
"No, I am not a meaty snack; why?"

There isn't much to say about this sentence. I had no clue how to translate φαιнрιε. But neither does she really have a clue how ridiculous she looks.

And now, because Streepje has featured far more in Katalu than Noortje: a bonus picture. Completely free! In this picture, she's looking at the bees hovering around in my backyard. Isn't that one of the cutest things you've ever seen?

Saturday, 10 July 2010

Διυ εнтрα Λυрιοнαιc (part 5)

I've added yet another paragraph to Pavsanio's Super Awesome journal. He's currently travelling from Blyposcia to Naupila by boat.

In my previous post I said something about a "hot summer sun". The irony. It has been so damn hot these last few days! Well, compared to the Netherlands general weather, that is.

---

Πрοтeрιει καᴧει εнιω нαцιнтει ποcκαнтαрοц, εцzαрιοц ὑцнο δeκεπтει гнοнтιοцκε, διcοнтιο Βᴧυποcκια ᴧecα Aнтιυттαрιαι Нαцπιᴧαн. Cυнδιοнтαι κεκαcтрωнтιαι ᴧeгω διн нεцмεнκε мου ἁιαнοнтιο нε нυгαι мυтοц αυт πeтрιοц δοрοц ἁ. Aнαᴧeгι Aннα αнαιнοнтιαн αнιδιοц αнтαгοц Aнтιυттαрια. Нαцιοнтυc ᴧeнιει ὑттαрει нοκтεc нιтοмα.

The next day I enter the little boat of a fisherman, a handsome youngman and being seventeen, to travel from Blyposcia via Antiuttaria to Naupila. My fellow traveller having asked, I talk about my trip and journal, smiling not [because] of the humour of the story but of her gigantic beauty. Anna answers that she is returning from a yearly herdleading from Antiuttaria. Sailing the smooth sea the two of us enjoy the nights.

---

This part is not that long, but it features some interesting words.

First of all, there is some insane alliteration in the third sentence, where the occurence of the Alfa and Nea is downright silly.

Furthermore, the word ευzαрιι (or the Karvokan εцzαрιι) comes from ευ+ιzαр+ιι, thus literally "goodfronted" or "goodfaced", and means as much as "goodlooking" or "handsome", although from a more objective point of view. It can be used in almost any occasion, whereas the later used δοрιι implies physical attraction.

Speaking of which, the use of the words 'πeтрιε δοрυ' could be considered quite ironic; although he insinuates that they slept together, the word πeтрιι is derived from the Πeтрec (in its turn from πeтεр, "rock"), a race of mythological titans or giants. It has made a semantical shift from "rocky" to "gigantic", to "massive" and finally to "enormous"; therefore the most likely translation of πeтрιε δοрυ would be "great beauty", saying that the woman is extremely beautiful. It could, however, also be a hint regarding her physical size, implying that she is both beautiful and huge.

Tuesday, 6 July 2010

Aᴧδαιн (to stop, to end)

Єυтιε Καтαᴧυ!

Here's a picture of Streepje looking at me because I actually interrupted her afternoon cleaning session just so I could take a picture. The weather is great, lately, around 28 degrees at some point. Funny how both the cats and I are sleeping all morning. Then again, my cats do little but sleep, I don't think the weather changes much more than the place they sleep.


Cтрeπα ἱφтοрειнεн eεнαᴧδι e eιδι мε нοιмωнтιοн.

Strepa clean.inf.acc pause.pst and look.pst I.acc all.prt.m.acc.
Streepje stopped cleaning and looked at me, after I called her name.

The sentence shows the 600th Lurion dictionary entry, which is a simple combination of the adjective ἱφтιι (clean) and the causal infix -οр-, turned into a verb. Also it features the word нοιмαιн (to call), obviously derived from нοιмυ (name) - which, strangely, wasn't even in the list yet.

Furthermore, the word εнαᴧδειн (to pause) comes from εн (in) + αᴧδαιн (to end). Other derived verbs from αᴧδαιн are αᴧδοрειн (to stop (transitive)), εнαᴧδοрειн (to interrupt) and εнαᴧδιδειн (to break up, to stammer, to lag). I can't quite find the word for the latter, which is formed by adding the repetitional infix -ιδ-, thus meaning "to pause repeatedly".

And the cat sleeping in last weeks third καтαᴧυ picture was in fact Streepje.

Saturday, 3 July 2010

Mαнπαнυ (Breakfast)

Єн цοιδιцει οφт нε мαнπαнεн παнxω.

In vacation.dat often not breakfast.acc eat.1sg.
In my vacation, I often do not have breakfast.

This sentence does not only show both an interesting word and a special construction, it is also true. Not that I starve myself until lunch, it's just that I don't wake up until around noon. It's also true in weekends. My biological clock must hate me for that, 'cause I have to wake up at 7:00 to go to school every day. Am I glad I'm done with that for some weeks.

Oh, right, мαнπαнυ. Well, first of all, you might have noticed that the literal translation should actually be "I often do not eat breakfast". In English you 'have a meal' or 'have a dinner', whereas in ᴧυрιοнεcκι you "eat a meal".

Me waking up at noon is quite normal in higher social classes in Lurionas, where they wake up at around ten o'clock, and have ἑᴧπαнυ (< ἑᴧecε 'sun' + παнxυ 'meal'; "lunch") within an hour or two. Then at around eight in the evening, families regroup to enjoy some dinner, цεcтπαнυ (< цεcтεр 'evening'). Labourers, or мαнοιрec, on the other hand, have to wake up early to go to work. Therefore breakfast is called мαнπαнυ, which is shortened from мαнοιрιε παнxυ ("labours meal").

That may sound demeaning, but in Lurion it hardly is, as мαнοιрυ is much more approbative than ποιεрυ "work". Where ποιεрιc can mean anything from slave to teacher, from baker to soldier, мαнοιрιc, which has obviously something to do with мαнυ (hand), is used to show that someone works really hard, makes a decent living, puts his back into it.

Wednesday, 30 June 2010

Λυрιοнιεc тecειc (Lurion temples)

The Luriones use тecειc (temples) as a place to pray, praise and meditate, as well as to meet for various reasons.

There are several types of temples, in most of them the seven main Gods, i.e. Δрαгο, Xωтαнο, Aκтοр, Ἱδοр, Ἁcмο, Cιцο and Mαο, are worshipped. Here I will discuss some of the most common.

Basic layout
Lurion temples housing multiple gods all have a similar layout, regardless of their shape.
The light blue area is the main room, which is available to everybody all during the day and night. The coloured areas are the actual rooms where each god is worshipped, praised and sacrificed to. These can only be entered by ᴧυрιοнιεc οικεнтec (Lurion citizens), thus not by βαрβαрec (barbarians, i.e. Fartes, Gerimes etc), δαмκαтec (slaves) or criminals, and only under the supervision or with the approval of тecec, priests.
Finally, the dark blue area is used as a back entrence for priests, a storage room and for other religious activities, e.g. removing animal sacrifices.

The front (shown at the bottom of the sketch) can be either a wall with one or multiple gates in it, or a мακουрυ (a row of pillars or columns). The whole temple can also be surrounded by a continuous мακουрυ, called an αмφιмακουрυ.

Тεтрειυ (Tetrium)
The Tetreiu or Tetrium is the most basic temple, it is rectangular but, unlike most Greek temples and modern churches etc, its main entrance is located on its longest side. It can be used to worship any combination of gods.

῾Єκтειυ (Hectium)
The Hekteiu has the shape of a hectagon, which is a holy shape in Lurion religion. Often with a dot in the middle, it resembles the seven main gods, with Δрαгο in the middle. However, for practical reasons, the rooms are position against the back three walls and are accessible via the main room in front. It is only used in the worship of these seven gods.

Κυκᴧειυ (Cyclium)
The Cyclium is a round temple, where most often only one deity is sacrificed to. It is often accompanied by a κυκᴧιмακουрυ (a circular αмφιмακουрυ), or sometimes by some other round formation of e.g. trees (like the Cyclarbrium), flames or stones.

Δουκᴧειυ (Duclium)
The Doukleiu, which is shortened from Δουικυκᴧειυ, has the shape of half a circle. It usually has a straight wall with only one door in it. When entering this, one can turn his head from left to right, eyeing the wide variaty of gods that is worshipped there. The rendezvous generally take place around the back side of the temple.

That's basically it, although villages and cities further away from the central Lurionas may have other types of temples.

Tuesday, 29 June 2010

Καтαᴧυ

Following in the footsteps of David J. Peterson, whom I deeply respect, I will post cat related words, sentences and photos of my two cute cats (Noortje and Streepje) every tuesday! This will help increase my vocab, as well as allow me to keep posting on a consistent basis.

Єυтιε Καтαᴧυ!

Καтαᴧυ is a combination of καтιc ("cat") and -αᴧυ, the suffix meaning "-day" (from καᴧυ). Coincidentally, it is also a slight anagram of ακтαᴧυ, the word for the second day of a week, or "tuesday", named after the God of War, Aκтοр. Furthermore, he is the god of felines.

And now, for some introduction:

My cats are named Noortje and Streepje, or Нοртα Cтрeπακε, they are around 10 years old, enjoy being petted, love being fed and spend whole days sleeping on beds, in gardens or in baskets of freshly washed clothing.

On here you see Streepje, named after his many stripes (I guess), relaxing in a small sunlit part of our back garden.
And here is her sister, Noortje (supposedly named when Sweden was playing football, but I was 5 or 6 at the time, so I can not verify that). Isn't she cute? She's just about to sprint to the kitchen, having smelled my father opening a package of minced meat. I think they are secretly spoiled by my mother when she's cooking.
Oh, and if you're thinking that they look so much a like, I can tell them apart perfectly well. Not only by the little stripe/speck next to the nose that Noortje has and Streepje hasn't (ironic, eh?). I can tell by looking only at their tail, their hair, their meowing, the way they move etc. On top of that, one can ofcourse tell by their completely different characters. Noortje is quite shy, whereas Streepje will just pounce your lap and demands you to sit still, being utterly surprised when you actually move for something as trivial as sipping your tea. How rude some guests can be.

And know, a test! Which one is sleeping (or pretending to sleep, as another photograph taken moments later reveals) contentfully in this picture?

Monday, 28 June 2010

Рοιειн - to be remembered

Having reached the 550th Lurion word, one of the latest is a quite interesting one, as it is used in a different construction than most natural languages use.

Рοιειн would mean something like "to be remembered", but it is most often used in the construction рοιι + dative, which means "to remember". For instance, καᴧυ мει рοιι means the same as "I remember the day", but literally "the day is remembered by me".

It originates from the word рιειн, "to return"; thus that sentence could be interpreted as "the day returns to me".

Ὁυ ποιтαc αια рοιcεc.
His deeds will always be remembered.

Sunday, 27 June 2010

Vowel Assimilation 2

Although I have already done a post on vowel assimilation (appropriately called 'Vowel Assimilation'), I've given it a second thought, and made
 The Awesome Lurion Vowel Assimilation Chart (or TALVAC)
Yes, I'm making that up while typing. Sometimes my brilliance amazes me.
Oh, and it includes both the Naupilan and the Karvokan accent! How'd you like that?

Well, without further ado, here it is!
Ofcourse you can click on it for a bigger version. How else were you supposed to actually read it?

In case you're wondering how to interpret this fantastic chart (and I know you are):

When a vowel on the left is followed by a vowel on the top, they either assimilate, in which case another vowel(cluster) is shown in the appropriate row and column, or they do not, in which case a hyphen, -, is shown.

The left chart (the big one) is the general Lurion assimilation, the bottom right shows the Karvokan exceptions.
The top right is the Naupilan accented assimilation chart, which is quite compact, as the Naupilans pronounce everything alike and make no distinction between long and short vowels when assimilating.

And to please those who enjoy seeing me make mistakes: no, I did not intentfully forget to add a ~ on the Naupilan α+ο>ῶ and α+ω>ῶ assimilations. But no, I systematically did not add circumfleces on diphthongs (like ε͂ι), so that does not count.

Well, you didn't suspect to see something as shockingly marvelous or overwhelmingly beautiful as TALVAC when you woke up this morning, did you?

Saturday, 26 June 2010

Diacritics and stress paterns

I have worked out the vowel assimilation again, which I will post later today or tomorrow, and I realised I haven't said anything about stress paterns.

Please make sure to have read 'Alphabet and Phonology', which I edited today as well.

First of all, I have added some diacritics, although they are not used in regular writing, only in texts explaining stress, vowel assimilation or linguistics, and sometimes in academic texts when differences in pronounciation are invisible, e.g.: δαυcтε or δᾶυcтε, [dæʊstɘ] (the general imperative of  δαιн) as opposed to δάυcтε [da:.œstɘ] (the conjunctive general imperative).

These diacritics are:
The Acute,  ́, used to lengthen vowels: ά ό ύ, and ί
The Grave,  ̀, used to strengthen vowels: ὲ, ὸ and ὶ
The Circumflex,  ͂, used to indicate the assimilation of an α and an ο: ῶ

There are 21 different vowel types:


α, ά, ο, ό, ὸ, ω, ε, e, ὲ, ι, ί, ὶ, υ, ύ, ο͂ι, ᾶι, ῦι, ε͂ι, ε͂υ, ο͂υ and ᾶυ


We can organise these types on how much they attract the stress (from least to most):

ε
{all others}
e
ω
ὸ, ὶ
ὲ

Stressed syllables in roots
The penultimate (the next to last) syllable of the word's root is normally stressed, except when any ε, e, ω or ὲ is present in its root (ὸ and ὶ do not naturally occur in roots); in which case these vowels are stressed (when the same 'stronger' vowel occurs multiple times, the last is stressed).

Examples (the stressed syllable is underlined):
цιδοр ("wing");
ὑм- ("you" (pl)), when there is only one syllable, it is stressed;
πεπαᴧ- ("egg"), the ε is not stressed (except when it is the only syllable);
αнтрωπ- ("human"), the ω is preferably stressed;
ἁнδр ("man"), the ε is not part of the root in words ending on -εр;
ὁικε ("house"), the last syllable is stressed because it is a strong ὲ, thus actually  ̔ο͂ικὲ;
βοцαнтр ("minotaur"), is a combination of βοц- and αнтр;
φυгε- ("to flee");
φυгοр- ("to cause to flee, to chase"), here, the infix -ὸр- is used to indicate causing something.

However, these stresses can be altered by the following affices (from weakest to strongest):

-ὸр-, as above
e-, the past tense prefix
-ὶнт-, the diminutive infix
-ὸнт-, the substantivating infix
-ο͂υ, -ά -ωc, the genitive suffices

Phew, that took some time writing.

Thursday, 24 June 2010

῾Єxιc ἱππecκε (The sheep and the horses)

I've translated Schleicher's fable, so here it is!
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Βοмнει ἑxιc xεнεн αὡнтιι eειδι ἱππεc, ἑн трαнεcοнтιεн трαнυκрεн ᴧοрδιεн, ἑн φαрεcοнтιεн мeгιεн φαcκεтεн, ἑн φαрεcοнтιεн ἁнδрοн тεᴧxιωн. ῾Єxιc ἱππειc eᴧeгι: "Тυмαр мου мε цεнοрι ειδοнтιιн ἁнδрοн ἱππεc αнтαгοнтιιн." Ἱππec eᴧeᴧεc: "Aυδαтι, ἑxιc. Тυмαрεc нωc нοc цεнοрεc ειδοнтιεc ἁтεн: ἁнδεр, δεcπιc, ποιι xεнου ἑxου мαβιεн ἁннрεн υπтα αυтιει e ἑxιc ἱ нιεн xεнεн." Aαυδοнтιι ἑxιc ᴧeнειεн εнeφυгι.

Hill.dat sheep wool.acc neg-having see.pst horses.acc, one.acc pulling.impf.acc wagon.acc heavy.acc, one.acc carrying.impf.acc big.acc burdon.acc, one.acc carrying.impf.acc man.acc fast.adv. Sheep horses.dat say.pst: "Heart my.gen me.acc hurts seeing.acc man.acc horses.acc driving.acc." Horses say.pst: "Listen, sheep. Hearts our.gen us.acc hurt seeing.acc this.acc: man, master, makes wool.gen sheep.gen warm.acc garment.acc for himself.dat and sheep has no.acc wool.acc." Hear.pf sheep plain.acc in-fled.

On a hill, a sheep that had no wool saw horses, one of them pulling a heavy wagon, one carrying a big load, and one carrying a man quickly. The sheep said to the horses: "My heart pains me, seeing a man driving horses". The horses said: "Listen, sheep, our hearts pain us when we see this: a man, the master, makes the wool of the sheep into a warm garment for himself. And the sheep has no wool". Having heard this, the sheep fled into the plain.

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In case anyone noticed the root-difference between "αυδαтι" and "ααυδοнтιι" - which I somewhat doubt -, he or she might say that either the first should be αυδεтι (from αυδ+εтι instead of αυδα+εтι) or the other ααυδωнтιι (from α+αυδα+οнт+ιι instead of α+αυδ+οнт+ιι). They would ofcourse be wrong, as the first comes from αυδειн (root/stem αυδ) meaning "to hear" and the second from αυδαιн (root αυδα) meaning "to listen". In other words, a small semantical difference is marked by a stemvowel that is only visible in some cases because of vowel assimilation. Interesting, eh?

Wednesday, 23 June 2010

Lurion's 500th word: ποιεтαυ (poem)

Yay! Λυрιοнεcκι now has over 500 items in my dictionary!

The 500th word (although adding and/or removing words might change its location) is ποιεтαυ meaning 'poem'. It is derived from the verb ποιειн (to do, to make, to rhyme, to write poetry), as are the words ποιειнυ (poetry) and ποιιc (poet), numbers 501 and 502 respectively. Ποιεтαυ is a pretty straight forward word, created by adding the passive infix -εтα- and a neutral suffix -υ, although there is no -οнт- marking the substantivation.
The word for poetry is simply its infinitive with a neutral suffix, and ποιιc has a general (animate) suffix, again without a participle-marker.

I should be translating more than I am at the moment. Maybe I should be doing a 'Word of the Day'-thing as well, or at least post W.o.I.'s more often.

I like the diphthong -αυ (from -α- + -υ) as a suffix, it also occurs in нαυ (boat), тυрαυ (government) and мαυ (game). The latter is one of my favorite words. Maybe that's because it's related to my favorite god, Mαο. And ofcourse it's the sound my cats make all the time.

Mèèèau. Mau! Mau? Prrrr...