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!
---

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.

---
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...

Monday 21 June 2010

Hello & Goodbye

Being words that are used a lot in daily conversation, the words for hello and goodbye are shortened a lot.

Originally, exclamations like
Ἁeιc καᴧεн ευтιεн - May you (sg) have a good day
or
Cου καᴧυ мεнeι ευтιε - May your day be good
could be used either to begin or end a conversation.
The latter would be shortened to
Καᴧυ ευтιε - good day
or with less emphasis on good:
Єυтιε καᴧυ - good day
Which is interchangeable with adding the prefix ευ- to καᴧυ:
Єυκαᴧυ - goodday
And finally, children and young adults often just say:
Καᴧυ - day; hi, hey, hello, bye

The same happens with
Ιeιc ἁοнтιι тυxεн ευтιεн - May you go having good fate/fortune/luck
Ιeιc (cυн) тυxει ευтιει - May you go (with) good luck
Both meaning "bye".
This would lead to
Ιeιc ευтυxει - May you go goodfortuned
Deformalised to
Ιтι ευтυxει - Go goodfortuned
Finally
Єυтυxει - goodfortune; goodbye
And ofcourse
Тυxει - with fate; bye

Obviously, there are many more ways of expressing greetings or good luck, but these are all formed in a similar way.

Διυ εнтрα Λυрιοнαιc (part 4)

Yay, my first Lurion myth! It's about Seufno. The name has become a noun in lurioneski:

cευφнο means 'drunk' or "binge drinker" or any other pejorative description of someone who drinks too much water or more commonly alcohol.

The water near the Lurion coast is generally clear and blue, by the way, and good for swimming in the hot summer sun.

---

Mεтα δευ καᴧειc πрοcπωн ᴧιмαι гεрιмιαι ααcπιω ὑтᴧιмιει δεмει Βᴧυποcκιαι οιδαтιαι υδοιрοц. Aмφιтωнтιε ὑδрει cтι βαᴧтр Ἱδοрοц φαрοнтιοц ἁмαн δακрει e мαнει рeδιει φεррοрн δeα. Єн cιнιтει δeι καδцε Cεцφнοц, εκ ἁтοц οποцc cοнδοцκε рεπcοцκε εгxc δeαцδc. Cεцφнο eαцδрι ποιᴧωн e ὁц нυδрαιυ eгεгнι мeгιεгε ὡн ὁн eαцδрοнтιοн πрοтωн ὑδрεгxc e мεтωн παнтιεc ὑттαрc. Ἁтιοц ὑβрιzοц Ἱδοр eтαxтι ὁн, ecнιᴧтι καδцн δυнeοнтιι ὑδрεгxc мαрcκε ὑттαрcκε.

After two days near the geriman border I have reached the coastal village Bluposkia (Blyposcia), famous for its fountain. Surrounded by water stands the statue of Hidor carrying his shield on his back and in his right hand his iron (sword) downward. In his left [hand] hangs the head of Seufno, from whose eyes, mouth and neck flow waterfalls. Seufno drank a lot and his thirst grew so big that he first drank rivers and later all the seas. For this hybris did Hidor punish him, he cut off his head, releasing the rivers and lakes and seas.

Sunday 20 June 2010

Διυ εнтрα Λυрιοнαιc (part 3)

I like bread. As long as it's good bread; I don't like those german bricks. Ham and red peppers on bread with sesameseeds. Hmm. I wouldn't enjoy eating Euchleban bread al day, though.
This passage is quite weird, especially on its own.

---

Διαгοнοнтιι διεн мοц, εнιω πрοтeрιει καᴧει Єυxᴧβα, ἁтει мнεc αxᴧβοιωнтιc ειποιᴧιεc καπιᴧειc αβωн мοц παтрοц καδцει. Aмβυнοнтιιн цεcтрει мε ᴧecαιεc гυмнο мeгιωн δαтωнтιο βαᴧιцωн εтαрιнтοκε ὁц гεрιмιο αᴧαᴧцοнтιοc e ἁᴧцοнтιοc. Aαмιтοнтιι нαιεн xᴧεβн рιω ὑπнcοнтιι.

Continuing my journey, I enter the following day Euxleba (Euchleba), where there are as many non-bakers as hairs on top of my fathers head. While I walk in the evening, a naked man, big given below, and his geriman boyfriend pass me singing and laughing. Having lost my appetite/hunger for bread I return to sleep.

Thursday 17 June 2010

A Naupilan Prayer

Here is a Naupilan prayer on the god of water, Ἱδοр. It is written with a naupilan accent and in capitals.

ΛAUΔEТAΙC ἹΔΟР ῾UТТAРЄC ΚЄНΙЄC MAРЄCΚЄ EΛΙЄC ῾UΔЄΓXЄCΚЄ ΔЄΔWНТΙΟ CЄUΦНΟН EНΟТWНТΙΟ ЄΓXΙНΟ UΚΙЄΔΙНΟΚЄ ΦAUΔΙНΟΚЄ ΔЄCΠΟ НAC НWC РΙΟРEΙCΚЄ.

Λαυδeтαιc Ἱδοр ὑттαрεc κεнιεc мαрεcκε eᴧιεc ὑδεгxεcκε δεδωнтιο Cευφнοн eнουтωнтιο εгxειнου υκιεδιнουκε φαυδιнουκε δεcπο нαc нωc рιοрeιcκε.

Praise.opt.pass. Hidor seas dark lakes-and light rivers-and give.pf.adj Seufno kill.pst.adj flow.inf.gen freeze.inf.gen boil.inf.gen master ships.acc our return.trans.opt.

"May you be praised, Hidor, who has given the dark seas and the light lakes and the rivers, who killed Seufno, lord of flowing and freezing and boiling, and may you let our ships return."

By the way, the last word shows a new feature/verb-infix I've added to Lurioneski: the 'transitivitiser', -οр-, to indicate causing the action to happen, turning an (often) intransitive verb into a(nother) transitive verb, e.g. ὑδεр φαυdι (the water boils) > ι φαυδοрω ὑδрεн (I boil the water).

Farteski noun cases

As you might or might not have noticed, I've removed a post about Farteski, because I am not sure how nouns will be formed. I am pretty sure it's gonna be all about markers instead of suffices. I have, however, thought about the cases:

Farteski has way more cases than Lurioneski. Lurioneski is more about interpretation, Farteski is a bit more specific. It has 13 cases (as for now):

Nominative - (no marker)
Subject.
Predicative - i
Says something about the subject or object in combination with the verb. (*)
Accusative - e
Object.
Dative - u
Indirect object.
Adverbial - a
Adverbs.
Possessive - í
Indicates possession.
Instrumental - o
The means by which the verb's action is done.
Locative - ô
Location.
Vocative - ü
Addresses whoever is spoken to.
Ablative - è
From / away from.
Lative - é
Towards.
Causal - á
Cause.
Final - ó
Reason.

*E.g.: "I am smart" or "it made him sick". I'm not sure if this is the right name for this case, it was the only one I could find appropriate.

I think Farteski is going to be a real conlang, not just a stub. I'll have to see how it'll work out, though. And don't worry, I will certainly keep my attention focused on Lurioneski.

Διυ εнтрα Λυрιοнαιc - Posting Paragraphs

I'll add new paragraphs of my story Διυ εнтрα Λυрιοнαιc on the go as well as adding them to the actual page, so you'll know when something new has arrived, and giving you the possibility to add comments. They'll be labelled "diu".
The first 5 paragraphs are already done, so I'll post them quite fast after eachother. The introduction can be found here and an extraordinary sentence here. These posts might contain some mistakes or inconsistencies, as I will only change those in the whole story.

Without further ado, here's the second paragraph, about the Cyclarbrium:

---

Δeκδцεc καᴧεc δεδιοнтιι e υυπтιωнтιι δεмн Aтαᴧтαрβрιαн нυн εн αιcтειc παzεнω. Ἁтει υπтecεc Ἁcмο Нυιι Δοрιικε. Οxрαᴧтεc οрαιнοнтιι Κυκᴧαрβрειεн ιω, тecειυ κυκᴧιε αмφιтα αрβрειc, ἁтει тιδιou αнou ἁcмιнтο e δeκтεтрαнιoc ὑцнoc cυнδιεc. Uπтα ἁтн εнтрα εн тεκтει тecειου εнειнει ἱcтε ἱтι, βαᴧтрοц Ἁcмοц αφαнтιοц cιнιтιει мαнει мυцιнтιc cтι. Тεκтυ мнι δeκπεнεc zοιтрεc ὁрιε, βαᴧтр εκδυ, ἁтει δακрωн ειδω ιεнυ ἁтεн οιοω δeωнтιεн εн αрβαυмεн. Тecο мε εтαрιωн αυт мοιрιωнκε ᴧeгι ειнιοн ἁcмιнтοн δυнeтωнтιοн αδυнαεнιοнтιειн. Πεπειнοнтιι рιω εн αрβαυмει αмβυcοнтιι.

Having travelled 12 days and having arrived in the village Ataltarbria, I am now sitting in the shadows. Here they worship Hasmo the Young and Beautiful. Ascending the steps I go to the Kuklarbreie (Cyclarbrium), a round temple surrounded by trees, where the hasmint of each year and the fourteen-year-old boys meet. On the left hand of the statue, on which light shines through the hole in the temple's roof, of the cloaked Hasmo stands a sparrow. The roof is fifteen arms high, the statue half that, behind which I see a hallway, I think decending into the forest. A priest tells me friendly but seriously that only the hasmint is allowed to enter. Having understood that, I return, going to walk in the forest.

Monday 14 June 2010

Aᴧφαβαртα (Alphabet)

I've finally come up with names for the Lurion letters. So here they are:

Aᴧφα
Βαртα
Γεια
Δευα
Єᴧтα
Zeтα
Eтα
Ιтα
Κοππα
Λαδα
Mυα
Нeα
Οмрα
Πecα
Рοα
Cιгмα
Тαυα
Uнα
Φαια
Xιтα
Цιδα



Aren't they one joyful bunch?
The last one isn't actually part of it, as it is not a letter but a diacritic, but who cares, as long as it makes him happy..

On are more serious note, all (real) letters consist of two syllables, the last being the female nominative singular suffix, -α.
Please note:
Єᴧтα is the short /ɜ/, while Eтα is the long /e/ (not the ancient greek Èta: /ɛ/).
Furthermore, Wα is Óa, the long /o/, not a W (/ʋ/ or /w/).

Tuesday 1 June 2010

Gerimeski phonology

How'd you like that? 2 phonologies on one day!

The Gerimeski phonology is very basic, though, for the Gerimes are much less sophisticated (even more so in the eyes of the Lutes).

p, t, d, k, g
m, n, l, r, s
f, w, j

a, á, o, ó, u, i, í, e, é
/a, ɐ, ɔ, o, u, ɪ, i, ɜ, e/

It's really that basic.
Silly Gerimes.

Farteski phonology

I have been think about what languages the people that surround the lurionas speak, for instance the Fartes. As for now, I've only worked out (most of) the phonology.

IPA *
latinised

p, b, t, d, θ, ð
p, b, t, d, th, dh

k, kh, g, x, χ
k, q, g, x, ch

m, n, l, r, ɾ
m, n, l, rr, r

s, ʃ, z, ʒ
s, sh, z, zh

f, v, w, j
f, v, w, y

h, ʔ
h, -
After a consonant, the h is drawn as a ', to avoid conflicts with digraphs, e.g.: th is [θ], t' is [th].

i, ɪ, y, ʏ/ø, u
í, i, ú, ü, u

e, ɜ/ə, ɛ
é, e, è

a, ɐ, o, ɔ, ɒ
á, a, ó, o, ô

This is ofcourse not the actual Fartan script.

Some examples (they are total gibberish, but show possible phoneme-clusters):

F'orténash, chramènozhin, qalrüt'enís, rrakxônáhá.