I've been having mixed feelings about Teliya Nevashi recently. I am not in love with it right now, but I am not in loathe with it either. I think some sweeping changes to the phonology will do a lot to make me happier with it, and there are still few enough words that I could apply the changes manually.
On top of that, I've got a new conlang pecking at the windows of my brain like that obnoxious raven from the poem. I would like to develop a conlang that's specifically a 'personal auxiliary language' for actual, general use by me. That's probably going to be my major summer project.
In the meantime, I've decided to work on a phrasebook for tourists visiting Nevash. I thought I'd put it here in installments as I go, since it will probably take me a long time to complete. Here's a small installment, some useful phrases for the boat ride to Nevash from the mainland:
Where is the boat?
Ya omo, mi dev alos?
I am seasick. I am very ill. Please kill me.
Ca omosivek. Ca sisivek. Gorhemixi lat, so pe net.
Don't vomit on my boat!
Seya sinashish omot laz!
~~~
Only one new word here: so ("if")
I didn't have an expression for "please" that I could find, so I went with "if you choose". I am not sure what sort of verb "choose" is. I was thinking pa (for the 'recieve'/'have' aspect) or sa (for the 'think') aspect. I think that sa net might be closer to "I decide" and pa net is perhaps closer to "I select". Anyway, I have rendered please as so pe net, "if you choose."
'Seasick' is 'boatsick' (omosivek). Hanesivek, literally 'seasick', refers to the symptoms of drinking sea water. It is also used to mean "crazy" or "stupid". (Or both crazy and stupid. Or reckless.)
Monday, May 16, 2011
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Shmalon
Vlaca nash xixirhuzh shmalonam.
I have eaten too many marshmallows.
Xirhuzh -- a large quantity of. Xirhos existed as a question word meaning 'how much/many', and looking at the other question words, I can only assume that 'xirh' means 'amount, quantity, number (count of items)'. Xixirhuzh, then, means a very large amount of something, or too much/many.
Xirhot -- a small quantity of. Xixirhot would mean a tiny amount, or too little of whatever it is.
Shmalo -- A word derived from the English, presumably because the Nevashi, upon first encountering this strange food, misheard the name as "my shmalo". The mistake dug itself in and refused to be turned out.
I had a dream and woke up with a new Nevashi word in my head. It was something that ended with the -séd suffix, and contained an entirely new root... but I don't even remember what the general topic might have been. Maybe it will come to me while I take a nap to sleep off the marshmallow binge.
I have eaten too many marshmallows.
Xirhuzh -- a large quantity of. Xirhos existed as a question word meaning 'how much/many', and looking at the other question words, I can only assume that 'xirh' means 'amount, quantity, number (count of items)'. Xixirhuzh, then, means a very large amount of something, or too much/many.
Xirhot -- a small quantity of. Xixirhot would mean a tiny amount, or too little of whatever it is.
Shmalo -- A word derived from the English, presumably because the Nevashi, upon first encountering this strange food, misheard the name as "my shmalo". The mistake dug itself in and refused to be turned out.
I had a dream and woke up with a new Nevashi word in my head. It was something that ended with the -séd suffix, and contained an entirely new root... but I don't even remember what the general topic might have been. Maybe it will come to me while I take a nap to sleep off the marshmallow binge.
Friday, May 6, 2011
A Word For Today
I don't think I can commit to a word a day, but I do have a word for the day, along with its relatives.
Ora, true (adj); to tell the truth (v. with sa); to act honestly (v. with ta)
Oram, a truth, something that is true (n.)
Orabwa, truth (n.)
I can imagine ora'el as an emphatic form of the adjective, but I'll have to let that roll around in my mind for a while before I can divine the specific connotations of it. It might mean "honest" or "correct"... But ora'el hasn't quite landed yet.
Google docs doesn't want to cooperate with this particular laptop, so it will have to wait until later to join the official document.
Ora, true (adj); to tell the truth (v. with sa); to act honestly (v. with ta)
Oram, a truth, something that is true (n.)
Orabwa, truth (n.)
I can imagine ora'el as an emphatic form of the adjective, but I'll have to let that roll around in my mind for a while before I can divine the specific connotations of it. It might mean "honest" or "correct"... But ora'el hasn't quite landed yet.
Google docs doesn't want to cooperate with this particular laptop, so it will have to wait until later to join the official document.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Translation exercise from the CONLANG list
The following is from the CONLANG list. (I hope Amanda doesn't mind being quoted here.) I was pretty happy about this translation for a few reasons. The first is that it plugged a couple of glaring holes in my vocabulary ("cook" and "enjoy").
As I was looking through the words I do have, I found "fire (n), burn (v)" and related words, and also "warm (n, v)", but decided to go with something completely different for "cook". It gives me something else to build new words with. (For instance, "pwenulam" (fire+cook) could be used for grilling or barbecuing.)
Anyway, here's the post with the quoted part in italics and my response in bold:
On 3/12/2011 10:50 PM, Amanda Babcock Furrow wrote:
> I've been meaning to put out this translation exercise ever since Penzey's
> sent my husband the bumper sticker he couldn't resist "fixing" - from
> "Love people. Cook them tasty food." to "Love people. Cook them. Tasty!
> Food!"
>
> So, the exercise is: show us how different these two sentences are IYCL!
>
In Teliya Nevashi:
Hulishi jenenam. Ulamishi nashiyam anási vonesh.
Like(neighborly love)-IMP people-ACC. Cook-IMP food-ACC delicious them-DAT.
Jemishi jenenam. Ulamishi vonet. Anási! Nashiya!
Enjoy-IMP people-ACC. Cook-IMP them-ACC. Delicious! Food!
I was really torn about whether or not to use the imperative here, since
I also have an optative (which would suggest that it is desirable to do
these things) and a couple of varieties of 'should' that vary by the
degree of obligation (or the degree to which you'd feel guilty if you
didn't). In the end, I think I am happy with the way it turned out. And
they are pretty fun to read aloud too. (And I do need the practice
speaking the language aloud.)
As I was looking through the words I do have, I found "fire (n), burn (v)" and related words, and also "warm (n, v)", but decided to go with something completely different for "cook". It gives me something else to build new words with. (For instance, "pwenulam" (fire+cook) could be used for grilling or barbecuing.)
Anyway, here's the post with the quoted part in italics and my response in bold:
On 3/12/2011 10:50 PM, Amanda Babcock Furrow wrote:
> I've been meaning to put out this translation exercise ever since Penzey's
> sent my husband the bumper sticker he couldn't resist "fixing" - from
> "Love people. Cook them tasty food." to "Love people. Cook them. Tasty!
> Food!"
>
> So, the exercise is: show us how different these two sentences are IYCL!
>
In Teliya Nevashi:
Hulishi jenenam. Ulamishi nashiyam anási vonesh.
Like(neighborly love)-IMP people-ACC. Cook-IMP food-ACC delicious them-DAT.
Jemishi jenenam. Ulamishi vonet. Anási! Nashiya!
Enjoy-IMP people-ACC. Cook-IMP them-ACC. Delicious! Food!
I was really torn about whether or not to use the imperative here, since
I also have an optative (which would suggest that it is desirable to do
these things) and a couple of varieties of 'should' that vary by the
degree of obligation (or the degree to which you'd feel guilty if you
didn't). In the end, I think I am happy with the way it turned out. And
they are pretty fun to read aloud too. (And I do need the practice
speaking the language aloud.)
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Update. No New Content Today... Yet.
I received a Kindle for Christmas from my son and his wife. (Actually, I am pretty sure that it was mostly from my daughter-in-law. She's sweet like that.) I am excited about the prospect of getting the grammar of TN into a Kindle-friendly format so that I can have an easily portable reference.
I need to update the grammar, and then I might create a "cheat sheet" version for the Kindle.
This afternoon, I plan on working out a simple Teliya Nevashi phrase book in order to have some useful conversational items together in one place.
I've been having a strong urge to start a new conlang, one that has the explicit purpose of being a personal auxiliary language (i.e. a conlang designed for everyday use in the real world by me... and anyone else interested). All my languages have this purpose, to some extent, but this is what I've been thinking about specifically for a new conlang now.
I'll try to resist, planning to redirect that energy toward TN, but I am not making any promises.
I need to update the grammar, and then I might create a "cheat sheet" version for the Kindle.
This afternoon, I plan on working out a simple Teliya Nevashi phrase book in order to have some useful conversational items together in one place.
I've been having a strong urge to start a new conlang, one that has the explicit purpose of being a personal auxiliary language (i.e. a conlang designed for everyday use in the real world by me... and anyone else interested). All my languages have this purpose, to some extent, but this is what I've been thinking about specifically for a new conlang now.
I'll try to resist, planning to redirect that energy toward TN, but I am not making any promises.
Monday, January 3, 2011
The Fourth Annual State Of The Language
Happy New Year! Welcome to 2011!
Let's get right into this, shall we?
This year was another slow one for TN. I've actually spent a lot of time thinking about it, but not very much time actually writing those thoughts down. I feel like my current documentation of the grammar is really out-of-date and in need of revision, but still usable, if not particularly user friendly. The vocabulary continues to grow. It is up to almost 450 words, although this total number also counts alternate forms of the same word and words derived from other words. But, hey, I never turn down a good number!
I have come to the conclusion that I need to approach the language differently. Neglecting it really isn't doing much to improve it.
This is going to be the year of translations and composition for TN-- to work out the bugs in the grammar, expand the lexicon, and get myself a lot more comfortable with using it. I had wanted to post some audio files in 2010, but that idea fell through the cracks. This year, I am going to make some recordings, and hopefully have some other people make recordings as well. I predict some fairly major revisions coming to the grammar, and possibly to the phonology as well, as the language gets used more on paper and aloud.
I realize that this is pretty much exactly what I said last year, but it didn't pan out in reality, and it all still needs to happen if the language is going to get up off the paper and get some life into it, if you know what I mean.
On a completly trivial note, this blog (which is also the "official site" for the language) is getting a new look. I am tired of the old one, and the light green on dark green has been getting a little hard on my eyes.
And that's pretty much all I have to say about where TN is at and where it is going. Now it is time for me to go take a nice hot bath as a reward for getting in here for the fourth year in a row to post a "State of the Language". And on time, too!
Let's get right into this, shall we?
This year was another slow one for TN. I've actually spent a lot of time thinking about it, but not very much time actually writing those thoughts down. I feel like my current documentation of the grammar is really out-of-date and in need of revision, but still usable, if not particularly user friendly. The vocabulary continues to grow. It is up to almost 450 words, although this total number also counts alternate forms of the same word and words derived from other words. But, hey, I never turn down a good number!
I have come to the conclusion that I need to approach the language differently. Neglecting it really isn't doing much to improve it.
This is going to be the year of translations and composition for TN-- to work out the bugs in the grammar, expand the lexicon, and get myself a lot more comfortable with using it. I had wanted to post some audio files in 2010, but that idea fell through the cracks. This year, I am going to make some recordings, and hopefully have some other people make recordings as well. I predict some fairly major revisions coming to the grammar, and possibly to the phonology as well, as the language gets used more on paper and aloud.
I realize that this is pretty much exactly what I said last year, but it didn't pan out in reality, and it all still needs to happen if the language is going to get up off the paper and get some life into it, if you know what I mean.
On a completly trivial note, this blog (which is also the "official site" for the language) is getting a new look. I am tired of the old one, and the light green on dark green has been getting a little hard on my eyes.
And that's pretty much all I have to say about where TN is at and where it is going. Now it is time for me to go take a nice hot bath as a reward for getting in here for the fourth year in a row to post a "State of the Language". And on time, too!
Nashvi: A Vocabulary Installment
I have had this stuck among my draft posts for a while, so now I am winding it up and posting it. I have spent an inordinate amount of time thinking about the Nevashi words for flatware (nashvi), mainly because I think of the words I want to use when I am walking to the store or in the shower or washing dishes, and then I forget them before I get a chance to write them down, so I have to invent them all over again later.
keb, to cut, slice
kebvi or kevvi, knife, blade
kebviozh or kevviozh, dagger, sword, machete (Anything in the large-to-very-large blade category)
vankebvi or vankevvi, scissors
The two forms shown are a matter of indecision on my part. It's my gut feeling that the 'bv' in this combination would eventually become 'vv', but I haven't decided if it is really going to do that at all, or if it would be spelled kebvi and pronounced kevvi, or be both spelled and pronounced kevvi. I haven't decided if this is some sort of general rule that might apply to other cases (e.g. would a hypothetical word kekxi become kexxi also?), if it is specific to that affix, or if it is sort of a weird thing about words for cutting-related tools. I haven't even formulated what the rule might be. That's something bubbling away on the back burner.
mek, to skewer or impale
meknash, fork
mekvi, skewer, spear
tum, to shovel or spoon (lift and move or measure with a shovel or spoon)
tumvi, shovel
tumviet, spoon
erhush, stir, mix together
luca, plate, disc
svado, bowl, dish
kalo, cooking pot, pan
iozina (or, alternately/more properly, iotzina), table (or board or plank; literally, "flat wood")
When I went to add these to the lexicon file, I found that I already had a word for "dish, bowl" (svado), which left kalo an orphan, so now it means a pan or pot for cooking. I was going to use it for table, but it sounded more bowl-shaped to me, so I decided to go the board=table route for table. I had to make a word for "wood" and then "flatwood" (because that sounded better than "cutwood" when I looked at both) and (SHAZAM!) we have a word for table.
keb, to cut, slice
kebvi or kevvi, knife, blade
kebviozh or kevviozh, dagger, sword, machete (Anything in the large-to-very-large blade category)
vankebvi or vankevvi, scissors
The two forms shown are a matter of indecision on my part. It's my gut feeling that the 'bv' in this combination would eventually become 'vv', but I haven't decided if it is really going to do that at all, or if it would be spelled kebvi and pronounced kevvi, or be both spelled and pronounced kevvi. I haven't decided if this is some sort of general rule that might apply to other cases (e.g. would a hypothetical word kekxi become kexxi also?), if it is specific to that affix, or if it is sort of a weird thing about words for cutting-related tools. I haven't even formulated what the rule might be. That's something bubbling away on the back burner.
mek, to skewer or impale
meknash, fork
mekvi, skewer, spear
tum, to shovel or spoon (lift and move or measure with a shovel or spoon)
tumvi, shovel
tumviet, spoon
erhush, stir, mix together
luca, plate, disc
svado, bowl, dish
kalo, cooking pot, pan
iozina (or, alternately/more properly, iotzina), table (or board or plank; literally, "flat wood")
When I went to add these to the lexicon file, I found that I already had a word for "dish, bowl" (svado), which left kalo an orphan, so now it means a pan or pot for cooking. I was going to use it for table, but it sounded more bowl-shaped to me, so I decided to go the board=table route for table. I had to make a word for "wood" and then "flatwood" (because that sounded better than "cutwood" when I looked at both) and (SHAZAM!) we have a word for table.
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