Géarthnuns - The Thread

[Lao Kou]

Géarthnuns

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Che Sholazheths - The Alphabet
Chau Julars chak Zhahakfalímensang - The History of the Declensions
Chakh Zhahakfalímensath - The Seven Declensions
Chau Glémírs - The Negative
Chí Shövönzhahakfals - The Accusative
Chí Gamézhahakfals - The Dative
Chí Nékazhahakfals - The Instrumental
Chí Shövönezhdöls - The Passive
Chí Gamezhdöls - The Dative Passive
Chí Içtebezhahakfals - The Postpositional
Chí Venazhahakfals - The Genitive
Chí Cherzhahakfals - The Locative
Chí Toutals - The Plural
Chí Pungetals - The Dual
Chí Zhöshetals - The Septimal
Chöik Kütsöip (I) - Questions (I)
Chöik Kütsöip (II) - Questions (II)
Chí Éshevíls - The Past Tense
Chí Íshevíls - The Future Tense
Chau Noimírs (I) - The Speculative (I)
Chau Noimírs (II) - The Speculative (II)
Chau Noimírs (III) - The Speculative (III)
Chau Staumírs - The Conclusive
Chík Zhahakfalsíd Ésh Ezga'u Íe (I) - More About Nouns (I)
Chík Zhahakfalsíd Ésh Ezga'u Íe (II) - More About Nouns (II)
Chík Zhahakfalsíd Ésh Ezga'u Íe (III) - More About Nouns (III)
Chí Çédezhdöls - The Causative
Chí Babezhdöls - The Causative Passive
Chau Kfangölímírs - The Imperative
Chau Ngamathemírs - The Discoursive
Chau Ürafömírs - The Hortative
Chí Semezhdöls - The Reflexive
Chí Avíathezhdöls - The Impersonal
Chík Felhakfalsíp zhö Chak Stíapwerinsap Jörhölalöthep - Relative Pronouns and Clauses
Chík Felíhakfalsíp - Adjectives
Chík Ébefelíhakfalsíp - Possessive Adjectives
Chík Dvöhakfalsíp - Participles

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Che Sholazheths - The Alphabet

Below are the forty-nine letters in Géarthnuns alphabetical order:

a, u, i, ö, e, au, öi, b, d, g, z, dh, j, v, p, t, k, s, th, sh, w, zç, kf, f, zh, ç, ng
m, n, l, r, rh, kh, ch, h, bs, rs, ts, ns, ks, ls, ths, khs, ms, dhs, ps, ds, fs, gs

Vowels: There are seven vowels in Géarthnuns. In the native script, a diacritical mark called a shumats is placed over the vowels to create seven additional vowel sounds. Vowels shumatsöin are not included in a normal recitation of the alphabet and are treated like their non-shumatsöin counterparts in alphabetization. However, akin to German and Hungarian, if two words are identical but for a shumats, the word without the shumats is collated first.

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Letter Name			Romanization		IPA			“As In” Pronunciation

asha							a				/a/			French: patte; German: Mahl
asha shumatsöin			 ai			  /aɪ/		  English: aisle; German: schreien
ut							  u			   /u/			French: fou; German: Kuh
ut shumatsöin				ü				/y/	      French: bu; German: Übel
imbe							i				/ɪ/			English: pith; German: Blick
imbe shumatsöin			 í			   /i/			French: fil; German: Liebe
(before another vowel)		          /j/			English: yarn; German: Jagd
öne							 ö			   /ø/		   French: deux; German: schön
öne shumatsöin			  o			   /o/			French: faux; German: Lohn
enga  						 e			   /ɛ/			English: get; German: Bär
enga shumatsöin			 é				/e/			French: dé; German: weh
aur							 au			  /ɔ/			English: austere¹; Danish: måle
aur shumatsöin			  ou			  /aʊ/		  English: county; German: bauen
öize							öi			  /øɪ/		  Swedish: flöjt; French: deuil
öize shumatsöin			 oi			  /ɔɪ/		  English: foist; German: Freude

¹In Received Pronunciation.

Consonants: Géarthnuns has twenty-eight consonants. The first fourteen are made up of seven pairs of letters distinguished only by a diacritical mark called a sekens. The sekens, identical in appearance to the shumats, is meant to mark voicing, though strictly speaking, jau and vöi should not be the voiced counterparts of shau and wöi. Consonants marked with a sekens count as separate letters in alphabetizing, the voiced set of letters preceding the voiceless.

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Letter Name			Romanization		IPA			“As In” Pronunciation

ba							  b				/b/			English: boat; French: aube
du							  d				/d/			English: day; French: vide
gí							  g				/g/			English: good; French: figue
zö							  z				/z/			English: zoo; French: mise
dhe							 dh			  /ð/			English: this; Icelandic: hvað
jau							 j				/dʒ/		  Italian: gelato; English: bridge
vöi							 v				/v/			English: vale; French: chauve
pa							  p				/p/			Spanish: pato; French: tripe
tu							  t				/t/			Spanish: teja; French: chute
kí							  k				/k/			Spanish: culpa; French: phoque
sö							  s				/s/			English: sully; German: los
the							 th			  /θ/		   English: thistle; Spanish: antifaz¹
shau							sh			  /ʃ/			English: shawl; German: Frosch
wöi							 w				/w/			English: wolf; French: oui
zçéna						  zç			  /ʑ/			Shanghainese: zia; Polish: zima
                         kw			  /kw/		  Spanish: cual; Italian: quindi
kfau							kf			  /kf/		  German: Quelle; Swedish: kvav
fíl							 f				/f/			English: fend; German: Lauf
zharö						  zh			  /ʒ/			Hungarian: zseb; French: nuage
çiku							ç				/ɕ/			Mandarin: xiao; German: ich
nga							 ng			  /ŋ/			Shanghainese: ngu; English: sing
mete							m				/m/			English: mayor; German: Traum
nü							  n				/n/			English: noose; German: Sinn
lésa							l				/l/			English: lamp; German: Aal
rín							 r				/ɾ/			Italian: rovo; Spanish: cenar	
rhamas						 rh			  /χʁ/		  Dutch: graag; Dutch: chrysant
vaukh						  kh			  /x/		   German: Buch; Spanish: reloj²
chem						   ch			  /tʃ/		  Spanish: chico; English: attach
héfö							h				/h/			English: hard: Swedish: hedning

¹In Castilian.
²In certain varieties of Spanish.

Föths: Finally, there are fourteen special noun-marker letters, called föths. Representing combinations of a consonant plus /s/, these single symbols, with a notable exception below, offer nothing new phonetically and occur only at the end of the nouns to identify them as such. If these consonant combinations occur elsewhere, they are written with the separate letters listed above.

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Letter Name		Romanization		IPA			“As In” Pronunciation

abs						 bs			  /bs/			English: absent; Italian: obsoleto
urs						 rs			  /ɾs/			Spanish: morsa Italian: dorso
its						 ts			  /ts/			English: vats; German: Schutz
öns						 ns			  /~s/¹		  French: prince; German: Chance
eks						 ks			  /ks/			English: fox; German: Dachs
auls						ls			  /ls/			English: pulse; German: Unfalls
öiths					  ths			 /θs/			English: berths; English: zeniths
akhs						khs			 /xs/			German: Bachs; Dutch: Haags
ums						 ms			  /ms/			English: himself; German: Sums
idhs						dhs			 /ðs/			English: withstand²; Icelandic: biðstöd
öps						 ps			  /ps/			English: hops; German: Gips
eds						 ds			  /ds/			English: headset; Swedish: dödsäsong
aufs						fs			  /fs/			English: scoffs; Swedish: hyfs
öigs						gs			  /gs/			English: eggsalad; Swedish: lågsint

¹This class of nouns invokes nasalization:
ans /ãs/		uns /ũs/	ins /ɪ̃s/ 	öns /ø̃s/	ens /ɛ̃s/	auns /ɔ̃s/   öins /ø̃ɪ̃s/
ains /ãɪ̃s/	 üns /ỹs/	ins /ĩs/ 	ons /õs/   éns /ẽs/	ouns /ɑ̃ʊ̃s/  oins /ɔ̃ɪ̃s/
²In certain varieties of English.

Notes on Pronunciation and Orthography

1) For vowels, two example pronunciations are meant to illustrate that vowel length is entirely allophonic. For consonants, two example pronunciations are meant to show how a consonant may sound at the beginning and ending of a syllable, if both environments are allowed.

2) Imbe shumatsöin: In indigenous Géarthnuns words, when imbe shumatsöin precedes another vowel, it is always read as /j/. In foreign words, however, whether to read imbe shumatsöin before another vowel as /i/ or /j/ depends on the word in question. As a result, Géarthçins children need to learn in school that the capital of Bulgaria, Saufíasars, is read [ˈsɔfiaˌsaɾs], while the Macedonian capital, Skaupíesars, is read [ˈskɔpjɛˌsaɾs]. Presumably, this will prove less of an issue for reasonably educated adult GSL learners.

3) Öne: The national standard hears and insists that it’s [ø] in all locations, but in reality, unlike /e/and /ɛ/, [ø] and [œ] are not phonemic. Do what you gotta do to get to /ø/.

4) Enga shumatsöin: In the native script, enga shumatsöin is read [i] in all words related to the first person singular pronoun. This is not an issue in romanization, where it is written as <í>, but it may cause initial confusion in the romanized dictionary where these words are alphabetized according to native script order. As an example, one will find the following dictionary entries in this order:

se indef. art. a(n), some (7th decl. sing. aff.).
sí pron. I (aff.).
séargnöz vi. come to a standstill, stop.

because in Géarthnuns, the pronoun sí meaning “I” is actually written with enga shumatsöin. The homophonous indefinite article sí, however, written with imbe shumatsöin, is right where one would expect to find it in the dictionary.

5) Aur: I don’t know about you, but I hear a variety of different sounds across languages represented by [ɔ]. Géarthnuns /ɔ/ is pronounced way down in the throat with lots of rounding, the best plum-in-the-mouth (hot-potato-in-the-mouth?) Received Pronunciation of [ɔ] you can muster.

6) Öize: As with öne, [øɪ] and [œɪ] are not phonemic, but you would be steered toward [øɪ] in an elocution class.

7) Pa, tu, kí: Romance language examples are given to show that English-style aspiration is not a recognized feature.

8) Wöi: Never written at the end of a word or syllable. The current trend, particularly in urban areas, is that wöi at the beginning of a word or between vowels is increasingly being pronounced as [ʋ], though [w] is certainly correct. Elsewhere, it is still read [w].

9) Zçéna: Only occurs at the beginning of a word or syllable. Though not an issue in romanization, there are two ways to read the native script zçéna, which may be broken down as follows:

Category 1) Words where zçéna is only read /ʑ/. The majority of words with zçéna fall in this category:

zçavels [ˈʑavɛls] pyramid
zçírhef [ʑiˈXʁɛf] find, discover

Category 2) Words where zçéna is only read /kw/ (again, Romance language examples given above to show that English-style aspiration is not a feature). A smaller group of words fall in this category:

kwídürs [kwiˈdyɾs] boss
kwaunöi [kwɔˈnøɪ] ebb, wane

N.B.: Since the letter zçéna is only written at the beginning of a word or syllable, in other environments where [k]+[w] occur, they are written out separately in Géarthnuns script as kí and wöi, not zçéna. For example:

fkwinats [fkwɪˈnats] (geological) basin
is written:
f-k-w-i-n-a-ts not f-kw-i-n-a-ts

Category 3) Words where zçéna may be read interchangeably as either /ʑ/ or /kw/. Many older words in the language fall into this category. Factors such as age, region, and class play a role as to which pronunciation an individual speaker opts for. /kw/ is used less often than /ʑ/ as the former is perceived as sounding slightly rural and quaint, but most speakers unwittingly mix and match to a certain degree:

zçörs² [ʑøɾs] or kwörs [kwøɾs] tiger
zçaith² [ʑaɪθ] or kwaith [kwaɪθ] contain

Category 4) Words where zçéna may be read as either /ʑ/ or /kw/, though not interchangeably. This is actually a case of a Category 1 word and a Category 2 word being spelled the same way:

zçöls [ʑøls] lizard but kwöls [kwøls] construction
zçith [ʑɪθ] reveal but kwith [kwɪθ] hum

In running indigenous text, this is something a reader simply needs to know, but in a native script Géarthnuns dictionary, /kw/-words are collated after /ʑ/-words and marked with an asterisk. Category 3 words are given a superscript 2 for “two possible readings”. While this is a non-issue in romanization, the category 3 tradition is carried over to romanized dictionaries, where the word is spelled once with <zç> and the superscript 2. Neophytes are also reminded to look up words starting with <kw> under zçéna and not under kí.

10) Kfau: Only occurs at the beginning of a word or syllable. Both my German and Swedish dictionaries give [kv] as the pronunciation for Quelle and kvav, respectively. Frankly, I just don't hear it. If that's really a [v]-sound in there, okay, but a Géarthçins won't hear it, so for “as in” pronunciations, they still work. Remember to look up words starting with <kf> under kfau, not kí.

11) Çiku: Usually a syllable onset, seldom a syllable coda, almost never seen at the end of a word. On the free German-language demo 45 I sent away for in the mail as a kid, I could swear the beguiling Fräulein was saying “ich möchte” with a [ɕ], but the prevailing wisdom seems to be that it's a [ç]. Well, fine! They're allophones in Géarthnuns then! Mandarin Chinese <x>, Japanese <shi> (even <hi> in a pinch), German ich-laut... all will get you close to Géarthnuns <ç>. The Géarthçins allow for a surprising degree of wiggle room here.

12) Nga, mete, nü: In addition to their use as onsets and codas, nga, mete, and nü may also appear at the beginning of a word as syllabic nasals, coinciding in point of articulation with the consonant that follows:

nga, as syllabic /ŋ/, occurs before g, k, kw, kf, rh, and h:

nggauls [ŋˈgɔls] neck
ngkokh [ŋˈkox] be necessary
ngkwörs [ŋˈkwøɾs] prosperity
ngkfubs [ŋˈkfubs] asteroid
ngrhíbs [ŋˈXʁibs] cork
nghats [ŋˈhats] funnel

mete, as syllabic /m/, occurs before b, v, p, and f:

mbanökh [mˈbanøx] scatter
mveks [mˈvɛks] gun
mpöríkens [mˈpøɾiˌkɛ̃s] cranberry
mfals [mˈfals] description

nü, as syllabic /n/, occurs before d, z, dh, j, t, s, th, sh, zç, zh, ç, l, r, and ch:

nders [nˈdɛɾs] healing
nzdanez [nˈzdanɛz] walk
ndharhals [n.ðaˈχʁals] debate
njégöths [n.dʒeˈgøθs] epiphany
ntesels [nˈtɛsɛls] grape
nsü [nˈsy] on behalf of
nthérauf [nˈθeɾɔf] simmer
nshöths [nˈʃøθs] apothecary
nzçaneks [nˈʑanɛks] coal
nzhükars [nˈʒykaɾs] satin
nçaiköls [nˈɕaɪkøls] awl
nlavers [nˈlavɛɾs] duty
nrels [nˈɾɛls] sixth declension
nchaçöts [n.tʃaˈçøts] muscle

With the addition of prefixes to a word, however, the syllabic nasal may be difficult to identify. For example, it may be hard for the novice to determine whether to read hembanökh as he-m-ba-nökh or hem-ba-nökh. Nevertheless, recognizing the syllabic nasal in this type of situation comes easily with greater familiarity with Géarthnuns vocabulary, and so these syllable breaks are not marked in the romanization.

13) Nü: The nasalization influence of the öns, a föths mentioned above, has expanded throughout the phonology such that whenever an [n] is followed by a (save the syllabic nasal described above), the [n] is not articulated and the preceding vowel is nasalized:

insürels [ˈĩsyˌɾɛls] elbow
nrönsets [nˈɾø̃sɛts] brake
zçüpénsöb [ʑyˈpẽsøb] blue, cyan

This phenomenon has existed long enough and is established firmly enough that it is now recognized as part of standard speech. However, this type of nasalization is beginning to bleed into environments where [n] knocks up against [θ], [ʃ], [f], and [x], so that one will hear in casual speech such pronunciations as:

inth [ɪ̃θ] read aloud

This trend still makes purists squeamish and has yet to receive the seal of approval as part of the national standard. Proceed at your own risk.

In addition, as the first part of a coda complex, nü may assimilate to the following consonant along the lines of the syllabic nasal above, yet still be spelled with a nü (unchanged in the romanization also, as <n>). This is found particularly in foreign imports:

skönks [skøŋks] skunk

14) Rhamas: Only occurs at the beginning of a word or syllable. It’s voiceless, heavily aspirated, uvular, and perceived as rhotic. It sounds like a very breathy voiceless French <r> in the allegro pronunciation of words like Chypre, battre, and encre, except that it’s syllable-initial. Dutch <gr> sounds pretty close, but I haven’t found an IPA transcription for that sound. We’ve rendered it here rather opaquely as /Xʁ/, but are open to suggestions as to how to more accurately represent the pronunciation of this letter.

15) Vaukh: Only occurs at the end of a word or syllable. Considered a kissing cousin of rhamas, vaukh may be in complementary distribution with rhamas, but is not considered by Géarthnuns speakers as an allophone.

16) Héfö: Only occurs at the beginning of a word or syllable. In the native script, héfö is a superscript letter placed over the vowel or vowel shumatsöin that follows it.

17) Föths: As outlined above, the föths is a letter representing a consonant plus an /s/ and is used at the end of a word in citation form to mark it as a noun. Although some of the “As In” examples show clusters coming together at word or morpheme boundaries, it should be taken into account that these come at the end of a word in Géarthnuns. Of particular difficulty for the novice may be the clusters involving a voiced consonant and an unvoiced /s/. For those wishing to perfect their Géarthnuns pronunciation, it is recommended that they say the “As In” pronunciations aloud, gradually attempting to drop the superfluous sounds. For those seeking only a working pronunication of the language, maintaining the integrity of the final /s/ sound is considered a higher priority than keeping the voicing of the initial consonant in the cluster. That is to say, in pronouncing abs, it is better to devoice the /b/ somewhat and approach /p/ than to voice the final /s/ and approach /z/.

18) Vowel breaking: In varieties of Géarthnuns to the north of the Vdözçébs Mountains - including that spoken in and around the city of Gdhírs, now considered the national standard - vowels are quite tense and rounded vowels are extremely rounded. This has resulted in a form of vowel breaking which is frowned upon in formal and polite speech as being uncouth and indecorous, but which occurs regularly in the informal speech of most idiolects except those of the most class conscious. Géarthnuns vowel breaking occurs with stressed final vowels in citation forms or at the ends of phrases and sentences, and involves the sudden release of the stressed vowel to a whispered, schwa-like position. This can occur with all vowels except a (/a/), i (/ɪ/), and e (/ɛ/).

Stressed final ai sounds akin to French aille (“e” lightly pronounced): [ˈaɪʲə]
Stressed final u sounds akin to French boue (“e” lightly pronounced): [ˈu:ə]
Stressed final ü sounds akin to French tue (“e” lightly pronounced): [ˈy:ə]
Stressed final í sounds akin to French fille (“e” lightly pronounced): [ˈi:ʲə]
Stressed final ö sounds akin to German Höhe : [ˈø:ə]
Stressed final o sounds akin to German hohe : [ˈo:ə]
Stressed final é sounds akin to French veille (“e” lightly pronounced): [ˈe:ʲə]
Stressed final au sounds akin to Swedish å (plus schwa): [ˈɔ:ʷə]
Stressed final ou sounds akin to German Aue: [ˈaʊə]
Stressed final öi sounds akin to French feuille (“e” lightly pronounced): [ˈøɪʲə]
Stressed final oi sounds akin to German Reue: [ˈɔɪʲə]

Some examples:

A: Neskers zhö kfínörs! Chau shebers helker lé ngauzçur nöi!
A: [ˈnɛskɛɾs ʒø kfiˈnøɾs! tʃɔ ˈʃɛbɛɾs ˈhɛlkɛɾ le ŋɔˈʑuɾ ˈnøɪʲə!]
A: God, that class was boring!

U: Mva hö!/Flaní!
U: [ˈm.va ˈhø:ə]/[flaˈni:ʲə]
U: Wasn’t it just, though?/You said it!
_________________________________

A: Seth lav chí hakfalsít „already”latöilít cha géarthnunsan cheveçö höngamath?
A: [sɛθ lav tʃi haˈkfalsit “already”laˈtøɪlit tʃa ˌge.aɾθˈnũsan ˌtʃɛvɛˈçø høˈŋamaθ]
A: How do you say “already” in Géarthnuns?

U: Stévü.
U: [steˈvy:ə]
U: Stévü.

South of the Vdözçébs, vowels are laxer and less dramatically rounded, so this phenomenon does not occur. Nor, it should be reiterated, does it occur in northern polite or formal speech where it would be considered quite brutish and likely give offense. This manner of speaking implies a high degree of familiarity and should only be used around people one knows well, in which case it lends an air of intimacy and conviviality.

19) With two exceptions which will be pointed out when they are encountered, no double letters are allowed in spelling. In environments where joining word elements would create a duplicated letter, one letter is dropped. For example:

Tunis + sars → *Tunissars → Tunisars

20) In the romanization, a small apostrophe is inserted between two letters if they are to be read separately and not as a digraph:

cherhan [tʃɛˈXʁan] how long but
cher'ha [tʃɛɾˈha] where

thauth [θɔθ] come but
tha'u [ˈθa.u] very

21) In the native orthography, there are three spelling anomolies which do not appear in the romanization but are explained here for the reader's information:

i) As has been mentioned, the first person singular pronoun in all its forms is written with enga shumatsöin, read [ i ], not [e].

ii) The verb hílel, “beseech”, is spelled with unmarked imbe which is read as imbe shumatsöin [ i ], not [ɪ].

iii) The Tetragrammaton, due to the nature of héfö, which is onset only and a superscript which cannot be written over a wöi, is transcribed in Géarthnuns with the impossible spelling Íhawheths, read [ˈjawɛθs]. It is romanized as Íaweths except in the encyclopedic appendix of the lexicon, where it is collated as Íhawheths with an explanatory note.

These irregularities should be borne in mind when reading texts exclusively in Géarthnuns script.

Chí Dvazhüls - The Syllable

The native Géarthnuns syllable takes the following form:

(C1)(C2)(S)V(C3)(C4)(C5)

in which C = consonant, S = semivowel imbe shumatsöin /j/ or wöi /w/, and V = vowel.

In onsets where both C1 and C2 are present, the following initial consonant clusters my occur:

Voiced:

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　　    b	d	g	z	dh	v	zh	m	n	l	r
　　b		 bd		bz  bdh  bv  bzh  bm  bn  bl  br
　　d				   dz	    dv			  dn  dl  dr
　　g	gb  gd		gz  gdh  gv  gzh		gn  gl  gr
　　z	zb  zd  zg	   zdh  zv       zm  zn  zl  zr
   dh  dhb	  dhg			 dhv	   dhm dhn dhl dhr
　　j		 jd					jv			  jn  jl  jr
　　v	vb  vd  vg  vz  vdh	   vzh  vm  vn  vl  vr
　　zh  zhb zhd zhg		    zhv		zhm zhn zhl zhr
　　m										       mn

Voiceless:

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　　    p	t	k	s	th	f	sh	m	n	l	r
　　p		 pt		ps  pth  pf  psh  pm  pn  pl  pr
　　t				   ts	    tf			  tn  tl  tr
　　k	kp  kt		ks  kth  kf¹ ksh		kn  kl  kr
　　s	sp  st  sk	   sth  sf       sm  sn  sl  sr
   th  thp	  thk			 thf	   thm thn thl thr
　　ch		cht				  chf			 chn chl chr
　　f	fp  ft  fk  fs  fth	   fsh  fm  fn  fl  fr
　　sh  shp sht shk		    shf		shm shn shl shr
　　rh  rhp rht rhk
	
¹Its own dedicated letter in the Géarthnuns script.

Syllables with non-föths codas of C3 and C4 are rather rare; syllables ending in C3, C4, and C5 are rarer still, but in this situation, C4 and C5 must be a föths. In both instances, C3 is either a liquid, /l/ or /ɾ/, or the nasal, /n/. A notable exception is the word írfust (in antiquity). /n/ in C3, as described above, may assimilate in foreign words to the following consonant along the same lines as the syllabic nasals, though is still written with a nü. Other words flagrantly breaking syllable rules and behaving badly, íulmusts (julmust), stromatolíts (stromatolite), and nefts (naphthalene), are clearly foreign loans.

Chö Bzonebs - Stress

(near as one can figure...)

• • Stress is not phonemic.
  • Once a noun or adjective takes a case ending, the penultimate syllable is always stressed.
  • Adverbs ending in -a'u [ˈa.u] and adadjectives ending in -eu [ˈɛ.u] always stress the penultimate.
  • Articles are never stressed; particles are seldom stressed.
  • Mood prefixes are not usually stressed, but they can be.
  • Syllabic nasals at the beginning of a word are not usually stressed, but they can be.
  • The auxiliary always goes after the nominative, so it tends to draw stress so that it sounds like Japanese “noun wa/ga slight pause” -- but it does not have to.
  • Secondary stress can occur in words of more than two syllables.
  • Stress is prosodic.

The grand no-no is to have two stressed syllables adjacent, so that once declined nouns/adjectives and adverbs/adadjectives are taken into account as the stress “anchors”, everything else falls automatically in line to maintain sentence cadence and create strings of anapests and iambs.

---

Fingernail Phonology

For gentle GSL learners who want to get their phonology onto a 3x5 index card for study on the bus, we offer a condensed version below:

Consonants:

Code: Select all

p b         t d                 k g  
  m           n                   ŋ
              ɾ 
f v   θ ð   s z   ʃ  ʒ    ɕ ʑ   x    χ   h
                  tʃ dʒ
              l              j     w

Vowels:

Code: Select all

i y           u  
    ɪ           
  e ø         o
    ɛ         ɔ
         a

 aɪ  aʊ  øɪ  ɔɪ

1) Unless otherwise specified below, consonants maybe in the syllable onset or coda.
2) /p/, /t/, /k/ are not aspirated.
3) /m/, /n/, /ŋ/ may be syllabic nasals [m̩ ], [n̩ ], [ŋ̍ ] before another consonant at the beginning of a word.
4) /ɕ/ is realized as [ɕ] or [ç] in free variation; mostly onset, rarely coda.
5) /ʑ/ is realized as [ʑ], maybe [ʝ] (which would be in free variation); always onset, never coda.
6) Though considered separate sounds, albeit "cousins", by native speakers, [X] and [x] are probably allophones in complementary distribution, as [X] occurs only in the onset and [x] only in the coda.
7) /h/ is onset only.
8) /j/ occurs in the onset or intervocalically.
9) /w/ is realized as [w] or [ʋ] in the onset or intervocalically, but only as [w] when preceded by another consonant.
10) Vowel length is not phonemic.
11) /e/ and /ɛ/ are separate phonemes, but [ø] and [œ] are allophones of /ø/ in free variation.
12) /ɔ/ is realized along a continuum of [ɔ] ~ [ɒ] in free variation.
13) [øɪ] and [œɪ] are allophones of /øɪ/, in free variation.
14) In all environments where a vowel is followed by an [n] and , the vowel is nasalized, with the [n] dropping:

[a] + [ns] → [ãs] ; [aɪ] + [ns] → [ãɪ̃s]
+ [ns] → [ũs] ; [y] + [ns] → [ỹs]
[ø] + [ns] → [ø̃s] ; [o] + [ns] → [õs]
[ɛ] + [ns] → [ɛ̃s] ; [e] + [ns] → [ẽs]
[ɔ] + [ns] → [ɔ̃s] ; [aʊ] + [ns] → [ãʊ̃s]
[øɪ] + [ns] → [ø̃ɪ̃s] ; [ɔɪ] + [ns] → [ɔ̃ɪ̃s]

This phenomenon is currently gaining some traction in lower speech registers when [n] is followed by the other voiceless fricatives, [f], [θ], [ʃ], [x], and, in theory at least, [ɕ].

[hr][/hr]

Edit: Gratias et kudos to Micamo for creating the Géarthtörs flag icon, and to Thrice for updating it so that I can now see it and enjoy it again, too.

[Lambuzhao]

Can it be? The Kou has spoken?!

YES!

I am leisurely pouring over the pages.

MOAR pleez!
çörau chek jdaiöthsech chö zhgöbsöb!!

Síuthta!

[Lao Kou]

Can it be? The Kou has spoken?!

Who was I to deny the fans?

çörau chek jdaiöthsech chö zhgöbsöb!!

so.as DEF.PL time-ACC.PL DEF joy-POST ?
Laissez les bons temps rouler?
Happy days are here again?
- How do I get to Carnegie Hall? - Practice. (?)

Síuthta!

Géhon. That said, additions will most likely be, erm..., sporadic.


And we thank you for your support.
(Is that the Waltons' porch?!)

[DesEsseintes]

Yay! Géarthnuns!

I have to say that very little surprised me about the phonology due to exposure in the vocab-building threads, but the spelling quirks are fun and naturalistic in a European we-just-do-that-to-mess-with-your-head kind of way.

I look forward to descriptions of the grammar which I'm too lazy to figure out for myself from the ample glosses available throughout the forum.

En bref, great job!

Ps. I especially liked the notes on uncouth pronunciation. I have a thing for speech registers and snobbery in general.

[Lao Kou]

Chau Julars chak Zhahakfalímensang - The History of the Declensions

In the earliest recorded stages of the language, there were only four declensions which had developed along gender lines, akin to many of the languages of Europe:

Early
　　
Masculine: marked by -bs
Example: dhaubs - man

Feminine: marked by -ts
Example: sasats - woman

Neuter: marked by -ks
Example: mníaks - water

Omnial: marked by -ths
Example: avíaths - god

As the language evolved, three additional genders/declensions, understood at the time as "intermediary", arose to give a total of seven declensions. These were named and arranged in a particular order in the old language, which underwent some reshuffling and reclassifying into the more familiar system of the middle language:

Old

First: -bs (masculine)
Second: -ls (masculo-neuter)
Third: -rs (masculo-feminine)
Fourth:-ts (feminine)
Fifth: -ns (femino-neuter)
Sixth: -ks (neuter)
Seventh: -ths (omnial)

Middle

First: -bs (masculine)
Example: dhaubs - man

Second: -rs (masculo-feminine)
Example: zhbéörs - parent

Third: -ts (feminine)
Example: sasats - woman

Fourth:-ns (femino-neuter)
Example: flahans - flower

Fifth: -ks (neuter)
Example: mníaks - water

Sixth: -ls (neutro-omnial)
Example: pöls - greeting

Seventh: -ths (omnial)
Example: avíaths - god

Although the seven declensions have remained intact to this day, gender distinctions began to flow and blur along a continuum at this stage in the language's development. The masculo-feminine gender was predominantly masculine before ultimately settling into something more closely resembling the common gender of the Scandinavian and Dutch languages; the feminine and femino-neuter remerged somewhat, but the fourth declension marked by -ns superceded the third with -ts as the "true feminine", while the latter became more epicene (Cf. das Mädchen). Distinguishing between the neuter and omnial along clear-cut traditional lines also became increasingly difficult.

First: -bs (masculine)
Examples:
dhaubs - man
díbs - king
dhabs - father
abs - older sir
rhöibs - uncle
bítebs - grandfather
lebs - husband

Second: -rs (masculo-feminine)
Examples:
zhbéörs - parent
çürs - consort king
íalörs - person
alüdlers - president
tezemars - doctor
zdarsölíörs - spouse
öinörs - teacher

Third: -ts (feminine)
Examples:
sasats - woman
zhakuts - wife (archaic)
séklets - child
papakets - baby
sfets - young sir
çíhölets - newcomer
bodalnçüts - yokel

Fourth: -ns (femino-neuter)
Examples:
flahans - flower
thrins - hand
maralans - mother
oshans - grandmother
öns - queen
írévens - wife
ervens - madame

Fifth: -ks (neuter)
Examples:
mníaks - water
öks - crocodile
víks - thing
aks - powder
dhnégreks - machine
keníks - apparition
mnéöks - luck

Sixth: -ls (neutro-omnial)
Examples:
pöls - greeting
shesöls - love
kals - ability
völs - light
mnwöls - time
fefels - image
üls - death

Seventh: -ths (omnial)
Examples:
avíaths - god
dalths - day
sömöths - year
thnövebüths - godsend
höths - peace
éths - nature
aiths - circle

Gender later moved away from sexual gender and gradually covered more general, albeit rather Rorschachian and mercurial, categories. In addition, although the declensions maintained their traditional ordering, they developed new, non-numerical names:

Tfömebs: things found in nature, "green" things
Examples:
dhaubs - green
übs - element
aubs - mountain
nelöbs - fruit
zhlabs - timber
ngarebs - dog
stebs - spring (season)

Shövars: movement, professions, "yang" things
Examples:
vars - wind
furs - writing implement
éslírs - projectile
mers - wheel
kengaungevíers - farmer
burs - tree
mörs - sun

Spéngets: qualities, movement
Examples:
techetnets - beauty
jvaunats - tact
kfauzçöts - generosity
kföts- trip
semekadits - return
wézçets - shift
ömbíöts - bird

Gwílöns: "pleasant things"
Examples:
ans - summer
mölmans - song
ens - spectrum
zçans - cake
höns - rose
löns - sea
ríçöins - castle

Ndöineks: "unpleasant things", "mechanical things"
Examples:
gadaks - war
soíéraks - diabetes
rhoks - stink
tlézçeks - waste
shpínöks - gadget
mveks - gun
zhwéshaungöks - gear

Nrels: things related to language, "yin" things
Examples:
gefröls - book
möls - speech
kfangöls - order
samuls - testament
fídels - elephant
kfedhöls - stone
vérhals - newspaper

Fpaukiths: "transcendent things", "celestial things", "positive things"
Examples:
auths - cosmos
dhauths - deity
gdonöths - weather
taríonspauths - medium
hoths - saint
zçalíkfoshköths - good
géarths - fealty, noblesse oblige

These are the declensions one sees in modern Géarthnuns. At this point in the language's evolution, the declensions are merely generic grammatical classes, albeit informed by their history, however their names and traditional ordering have continued into the present, and that is reflected in the alphabetical ordering of their associated föths as well.

[k1234567890y]

good job, keep going.

seems that the -s suffix in every declension is the mark for nominative noun or something like that? how about the whole declension system?

[Lambuzhao]

7 vowels
7X4 consonants
7 declensions...

...7 dwarves
7 for the seven stars in the sky
7 brides for seven brothers
7 maids a-milking
I see a pattern here...

http://mchenrycountyblog.com/wordpress/ ... ohnson.png

...Veeeeery Interesting!

http://www.rockingham.k12.va.us/MathGra ... ptagon.jpg

[Lao Kou]

how about the whole declension system?

I see a pattern here...

In due time, my good fellows. Gdhírs wasn't built in a day.

Edit: I think these have now been addressed.

[Lao Kou]

Chakh Zhahakfalímensath - The Seven Declensions

As has been mentioned earlier, there are seven declensions in Géarthnuns. Each declension is marked by a föths, and has a thematic declension vowel, called a pténíörs, associated with it:

Code: Select all

Declension			Föths		Pténíörs			Example

Tfömebs				 abs			 ö			    ngarebs - dog
Shövars			    urs			 au		      teshers - cat
Spéngets			   its		    öi			   papakets - baby
Gwílöns             öns          a             frens - country   
Ndöineks				eks			 ü	          rhabaks - fool
Nrels				   auls			í				 ösfandíls - artist		
Fpaukiths           öiths        e             förhífaths - dancer

Chíkh Sömaut'hakfalsíth Ngkafílíth zhö Gnöingkafílíth - The Definite and Indefinite Articles

More on the use of the definite and indefinite articles will be discussed later, but for now, suffice it to say that nouns in sentences, except for proper nouns, pronouns, and nouns used vocatively, must be accompanied by an article. Articles agree with the nouns they modify in declension, number, and polarity, but not in case. The singular definite article is formed by taking the letter chem and adding the appropriate pténíörs; the singular indefinite article is formed by taking the letter sö and adding the appropriate pténíörs:

Code: Select all

Declension			        Definite		                  Indefinite			

Tfömebs				 chö ngarebs - the dog             sö ngarebs - a dog
Shövars			    chau teshers - the cat            sau teshers - a cat 
Spéngets			   chöi papakets - the baby          söi papakets - a baby
Gwílöns             cha frens - the country           sa frens - a country    
Ndöineks				chü rhabaks - the fool            sü rhabaks - a fool 
Nrels				   chí ösfandíls - the artist        sí ösfandíls - an artist		
Fpaukiths           che förhífaths - the dancer       se förhífaths - a dancer

N.B.: With countable nouns, the indefinite singular article may be translated as "a/an"; with uncountable nouns, it may be translated as "some" or not translated at all:

sau teshers - a cat but
sau zars - (some) soil

In certain contexts, all three interpretations may be possible. For example, the sentence:

Sí la sö kawabsöt kalaf.

might be interpreted as:

I'd like a coffee.
I'd like some coffee. or
I'd like coffee.

Chí Bözhahakfals - The Nominative Case

The nominative case, in the singular, is the citation form of the noun. The nominative is used to indicate:

1) the subject of a sentence:

Chö dhaubs la shöz.
The man is running.

Chöi sasats la förhífaz.
The woman is dancing.

Chöi séklets la shöl.
The child is crying.

2) the predicate noun in sentences with copulative verbs such as nöi (be), zçenöi (slowly become, wax), kwaunöi (slowly "unbecome", wane), vanöi (become), and sénöi (remain):

Sí la chau zhbéörs nöi, öçek la chöi séklets nöi.
I am the parent, you are the child.

Chöi séklets la sö dhaubs zçenöi.
The child is growing into a man.

Cha helkedíns la sa frens kwaunöi.
That place is gradually unravelling as a country.

Chöi sasats la chöi alüdzerats vanöi.
The woman becomes prime minister.

Chöi jvaunats la cha brins sénöi.
Tact remains the essential matter.

3) a noun used vocatively:

Abs, öçek la sü rhabaks nöi.
You, sir, are a fool.

Íöhans, chöi papakets la shöl.
John, the baby is crying.

De öçek la hö, Bruts?
Et tu, Brute?

Chík Knefehakfalsíp - The Demonstratives

There are three demonstratives in Géarthnuns:

chö hengebs - this; a first person referent; what is near the speaker (Cf. Spanish: éste; Japanese: これ)
chö hereçkebs - that; a second person referent; what is near the listener (Cf. Spanish: ése; Japanese: それ)
chö helkebs - that; a third person referent; what is away from both the speaker and the listener (Cf. Spanish: aquél; Japanese: あれ)

If a demonstrative is the subject of a sentence with a predicate noun, it must agree in declension with that predicate noun. Conversely, if a demonstrative is a predicate noun, it must agree in declension with the subject:

Chö hengebs la sö ngarebs nöi.
This is a dog.

Chau hengers la sau teshers nöi.
This is a cat.

Chöi hereçkets la söi papakets nöi.
That (near you) is a baby.

Cha hereçkens la sa flahans nöi.
That (near you) is a flower.

Chü helkeks la sü rhabaks nöi.
That (over there) is a fool.

Chí helkels la chí ösfandíls nöi.
That (over there) is the artist.

Che helkeths la che förhífaths nöi.
That (over there) is the dancer.

Cha brins la cha hengens nöi: ...
The point is this: ...

Söi papakets la chöi hengets nöi: ...
A baby is this: ...

Chí Shajinhakfals - The Verb

The Géarthnuns verbal complex is made up of an auxiliary, called a shléts, which indicates tense and voice, and the verb proper, which indicates mood and meaning. In the present tense, the shléts is "la", and unmarked, it designates the active voice. The citation form of the verb denotes the indicative mood. Thus:

la shöl - cries, is crying, does cry
la shöz - runs, is running, does run
la förhífaz - dances, is dancing, does dance
la nöi - is, is being

As can be seen, the Géarthnuns verb does not distinguish between the simple, progressive, and emphatic present of English. Moreover, verbs are not conjugated for person or number:

sí la shöl - I cry, am crying, do cry
öçek la shöl - you cry, are crying, do cry
söb la shöl - he/she/it cries, is crying, does cry

Since Géarthnuns considers itself an SOV (or more properly, SAuxOV) language, the normal word order for a sentence is:

subject - shléts - predicate - verb

Sí la sau tezemars nöi.
I am a doctor.

While there is some flexibility in the order of the subject, shléts, and predicate elements, the verb must always go at the end of a sentence or clause.

Chík Bekhhakfalsíp Kteselnalölíp - Coordinating Conjunctions

There are two words for "and" in Géarthnuns: kfö, which is used to connect verbs, clauses, and sentences, and zhö, to connect nouns, adjectives, adverbs, and postpositional phrases.

Sí la chau zhbéörs nöi, kfö öçek la chöi séklets nöi.
I am the parent, and you are the child.

San la sau tezemars nöi, kfö söb la sí ösfandíls nöi.
She is a doctor, and he is an artist.

Söb la shöz kfö förhífaz.
He is running and dancing.

San la sau tezemars zhö sí ösfandíls nöi.
She is a doctor and an artist.

Söb la chöi alüdzerats zhö sü rhabaks nöi.
He is the prime minister and a fool.

Similarly, there are two words for "but": arkfö, to connect verbs, clauses, and sentences, and arzhö, to connect nouns, adjectives, adverbs, and postpositional phrases.

Öçek la chöi alüdzerats nöi, arkfö sí la chö díbs nöi.
You are the prime minister, but I am the king.

Chau hengers la sau teshers nöi, arkfö chö hereçkebs la sö ngarebs nöi.
This is a cat, but that is a dog.

Söb la chö díbs arzhö sö dhaubs ífa'u nöi.
He is the king, but also a man.

San la söi séklets arzhö sö vwélabs ífa'u nöi.
She is a child, but also an actress.

-bauths, -sars, and -lats

Words of foreign origin that cannot readily fit into one of the seven declensions need to take a suffix: "-bauths" for names of people, "-sars" for place names, and "-lats" for things.

Madeleine Albright → Albrait Madelens
Albert Schweizer → Shfaitser Alberts
Liszt Ferenc → List Ferents but
Tony Blair → Blér Toníbauths
Giuseppe Verdi → Verdí Jíusepebauths

Japan → Níhons
Germany → Doichlants
United States → Íunaitidstéts but
United Kingdom → Íunaitidkingdömsars
Geneva → Zhönevsars

Facebook → Fésbuks
Magnificat → Magnífíkats
croissant → krwasans but
gazpacho → gathpacholats
New York Times → Nu Íork Taimzlats

Sak Flaivonapwerinsap Sfönap - Other Example Sentences

Chö díbs la sü rhabaks nöi.
The king is a fink.

Cha jvaunats la se híbazçöths nöi.
Tact is a virtue.

Kamöraun Dévidbauths la chöi alüdzerats nöi.
David Cameron is prime minister.

Sí La Sau Teshers Nöi
I Am a Cat

Söb la se förhífaths zçenöi.
He is training to become a dancer.

San la sö vwélabs kwaunöi.
She's on her way out as an actress.

Chau síkurs la sa flahans vanöi.
The seed becomes a flower.

San la che alürheths sénöi.
She remains president.

Chö ngarebs la shöz.
The dog is running.

Chö vwélabs la förhífaz.
The actor dances.

He is...

Yuri becomes a doctor.

[Lao Kou]

Chau Glémírs - The Negative

The yeoman's share of negation in Géarthnuns is not marked by adverbs, adjectives, or special verb forms; rather, it is indicated on the noun. This does not mean, however, that the noun itself is being negated. The glémírs of "dog" should not be translated as "no dog", and though one talks in Géarthnuns of the polarity of a noun, one should probably also avoid thinking in terms of an "un-dog", "antimatter dog", or some such. Clausal negation is simply tagged on the noun, and all nouns and their modifiers within a given clause take the glémírs to negate it, with factors of scope being addressed in other ways. With that in mind, the previous post is going to be viewed through the lens of the glémírs.

Chakh Zhahakfalímensath - The Seven Declensions

In their negative forms, each declension is marked by one of the second set of föths. The pténíörs remains unchanged:

Code: Select all

Declension			Föths		Pténíörs			Example

Tfömebs				 akhs			ö			    ngarekhs - dog (neg.)
Shövars			    ums			 au		      teshems - cat (neg.)
Spéngets			   idhs		   öi			   papakedhs - baby (neg.)
Gwílöns             öps          a             freps - country (neg.)   
Ndöineks				eds			 ü	          rhabads - fool (neg.)
Nrels				   aufs			í				 ösfandífs - artist (neg.)		
Fpaukiths           öigs         e             förhífags - dancer (neg.)

Chíkh Sömaut'hakfalsíth Ngkafílíth zhö Gnöingkafílíth - The Definite and Indefinite Articles

To reiterate, articles agree with the nouns they modify in declension, number, and polarity, but not in case. The singular negative definite article is formed by taking the letter vöi and adding the appropriate pténíörs; the singular negative indefinite article is formed by taking the letter fíl and adding the appropriate pténíörs:

Code: Select all

Declension			         Definite		                        Indefinite			

Tfömebs				vö ngarekhs - the dog (neg.)           fö ngarekhs - a dog (neg.)
Shövars			   vau teshems - the cat (neg.)           fau teshems - a cat (neg.)
Spéngets			  vöi papakedhs - the baby (neg.)        föi papakedhs - a baby (neg.)
Gwílöns            va freps - the country (neg.)          fa freps - a country (neg.)    
Ndöineks			  vü rhabads - the fool (neg.)           fü rhabads - a fool (neg.) 
Nrels				  ví ösfandífs - the artist (neg.)       fí ösfandífs - an artist (neg.)		
Fpaukiths          ve förhífags - the dancer (neg.)       fe förhífags - a dancer (neg.)

Interpretation of the negative indefinite article depends on context. For example, the sentence from the previous post in the negative:

Fí la fö kawakhsöt kalaf.

might be interpreted as:

I wouldn't like a coffee.
I wouldn't like any coffee. or
I wouldn't like coffee.

Chí Bözhahakfals - The Nominative Case

The gentle reader is invited to revisit these sentences in the negative. The negative nominative is used to indicate:

1) the subject of a sentence:

Vö dhaukhs la shöz.
The man is not running.

Vöi sasadhs la förhífaz.
The woman is not dancing.

Vöi sékledhs la shöl.
The child is not crying.

2) the predicate noun in sentences with copulative verbs such as nöi (be), zçenöi (slowly become, wax), kwaunöi (slowly "unbecome", wane), vanöi (become), and sénöi (remain):

Fí la vau zhbéöms nöi, fenfe la vöi sékledhs nöi.
I am not the parent, you are not the child.

Vöi sékledhs la fö dhaukhs zçenöi.
The child is not growing into a man.

Va helkedíps la fa freps kwaunöi.
That place is not gradually unravelling as a country.

Vöi sasadhs la vöi alüdzeradhs vanöi.
The woman does not become prime minister.

Vöi jvaunadhs la va brips sénöi.
Tact does not remain the essential matter.

N.B.: Vocative nouns, set off by a comma, do not constitute part of the negated clause and are not put into the glémírs:

Abs, fenfe la fü rhabads nöi.
You, sir, are not a fool.

Íöhans, vöi papakedhs la shöl.
John, the baby is not crying.

De fenfe la hö, Bruts?
Nec tu, Brute?

Chík Knefehakfalsíp - The Demonstratives

The three Géarthnuns demonstratives in the glémírs:

vö hengekhs - this (neg.)
vö hereçkekhs - that (neg.), near the listener
vö helkekhs - that (neg.), over there

If a demonstrative is the subject of a sentence with a predicate noun, it must agree in declension and polarity with that predicate noun. Conversely, if a demonstrative is a predicate noun, it must agree in declension and polarity with the subject:

Vö hengekhs la fö ngarekhs nöi.
This isn't a dog.

Vau hengems la fau teshems nöi.
This isn't a cat.

Vöi hereçkedhs la föi papakedhs nöi.
That (near you) isn't a baby.

Va hereçkeps la fa flahaps nöi.
That (near you) isn't a flower.

Vü helkeds la fü rhabads nöi.
That (over there) isn't a fool.

Ví helkefs la ví ösfandífs nöi.
That (over there) isn't the artist.

Ve helkegs la ve förhífags nöi.
That (over there) isn't the dancer.

Va brips la va hengeps nöi: ...
The point is not this: ...

Föi papakedhs la vöi hengedhs nöi: ...
A baby is not this: ...

Chí Shajinhakfals - The Verb

Negation does not affect the structure of the Géarthnuns verbal complex: subject - shléts - predicate - verb

Verbs are not conjugated for person or number, but pronouns have glémírs to indicate the different clausal polarity:

fí la shöl - I am not crying, do not cry
fenfe la shöl - you are not crying, do not cry
fökh la shöl - he/she/it is not crying, does not cry

From the previous post, negated:

Fí la fau tezemams nöi.
I am not a doctor.

Chík Bekhhakfalsíp Kteselnalölíp - Coordinating Conjunctions

Fí la vau zhbéöms nöi, kfö fenfe la vöi sékledhs nöi.
I am not the parent, and you are not the child.

Fap la fau tezemams nöi, kfö fökh la fí ösfandífs nöi.
She is not a doctor, and he is not an artist.

English speakers may feel more comfortable translating the following sentences with "or":

Fökh la shöz kfö förhífaz.
He is not running and dancing./He is not running or dancing.

Fap la fau tezemams zhö fí ösfandífs nöi.
She is not a doctor and an artist./She is not a doctor or an artist.

Fökh la vöi alüdzeradhs zhö fü rhabads nöi.
He is not the prime minister and a fool./He is not the prime minister or a fool.

The two words for "but", arkfö and arzhö, offer occasion to switch polarity mid-sentence or even mid-clause.

Fenfe la vöi alüdzeradhs nöi, arkfö sí la chö díbs nöi.
You are not the prime minister, but I am the king.

Chau hengers la sau teshers nöi, arkfö vö hereçkekhs la fö ngarekhs nöi.
This is a cat, but that is not a dog.

Fökh la vö díkhs, arzhö sö dhaubs, nöi.
He is not the king, but a man.

Fap la föi sékledhs, arzhö sö vwélabs, nöi.
She is not a child, but an actress.

When the polarity structure changes from "It's not X, but Y." to "It's X, not Y.", arzhö must still be used as a polarity changer, whereas the English omits "but".

Sí la sau tezemars, arzhö fö vdetöitsubs, nöi!
I'm a doctor, not a bricklayer!

Irregular Glémírs with -lats and -sars

Certain words of foreign origin, as was seen in the first post in the section on The Syllable, made it under the wire into the spéngets (as well as the ndöineks) declension without the "-lats" treatment, even though they bend Géarthnuns phonotactics somewhat. However, as adding a negative föths to these words would result in a rather unseemly coda disaster, both to pronounce and spell, their glémírs take the "-lats" suffix in the negative. The asymmetrical affirmative and negative forms of these rare words have led some Géarthnuns grammarians to call these "irregular glémírs".

Examples: affirmative / negative

julmust → íulmusts / íulmustladhs, not íulmusdhs
naphthalene → nefts / neftladhs, not nefdhs
aqueduct → akwaidukts / akwaiduktladhs, not akwaidukdhs
obelisk → obélísks / obélískladhs, not obélísds

Similarly, certain foreign place names may have their affirmative forms in the spéngets or ndöineks declensions, but for euphony's sake, have their glémírs with the "-sars" suffix in the negative. This will also result in these names changing declensions as they alternate between affirmative and negative forms.

Examples: affirmative / negative

Budapest → Budapeshts / Budapeshtsams, not Budapeshdhs
Murmansk → Murmansks / Murmansksams, not Murmansds

Sak Flaivonapwerinsap Sfönap - Other Example Sentences

Vö díkhs la fü rhabads nöi.
The king is not a fink.

Va jvaunadhs la fe híbazçögs nöi.
Tact is not a virtue.

Blér Toníbaugs la vöi alüdzeradhs nöi.
Tony Blair isn't prime minister.

Fí la fí fídefs nöi!
I am not an elephant!

Fökh la fe förhífags zçenöi.
He isn't training to become a dancer.

Fap la fö vwélakhs kwaunöi.
She's not on her way out as an actress.

Vau síkums la fa flahaps vanöi.
The seed doesn't become a flower.

Fap la ve alürhegs sénöi.
She does not remain president.

Vö ngarekhs la shöz.
The dog isn't running.

Vö vwélakhs la förhífaz.
The actor doesn't dance.

Additional examples of "arzhö"/"arkfö"

but

[Lao Kou]

Chí Shövönzhahakfals - The Accusative

Chü Tubílíbdönöks - Formation

A noun in the accusative case singular is formed as follows:

citation form + pténíörs + -t

Examples: affirmative / negative

ngarebs → ngarebsöt → ngarebsöt // ngarekhs → ngarekhsöt → ngarekhsöt - dog
teshers → teshersaut → teshersaut // teshems → teshemsaut → teshemsaut - cat

As they do not inflect for case, affirmative and negative articles remain unchanged.

Using the nouns below:

béöbs - house
jürs - wine
chföts - tail
altens - meat
chívaks - window
zvakíals - health
töths - car

the paradigm thus far looks like this:

Affirmative Singular:

Code: Select all

                  Tfömebs	         Shövars		       Spéngets			    Gwílöns            Ndöineks              Nrels            Fpaukiths

Nominative     chö/sö béöbs      chau/sau jürs	    chöi/söi chföts 	   cha/sa altens      chü/sü chívaks      chí/sí zvakíals      che/se töths			    
Accusative     chö/sö béöbsöt	 chau/sau jürsaut    chöi/söi chfötsöit    cha/sa altensat    chü/sü chívaksüt    chí/sí zvakíalsít    che/se töthset

Negative Singular:

Code: Select all

                  Tfömebs	        Shövars		       Spéngets			    Gwílöns           Ndöineks             Nrels          Fpaukiths

Nominative     vö/fö béökhs      vau/fau jüms	    vöi/föi chfödhs 	   va/fa alteps      vü/fü chívads      ví/fí zvakíafs      ve/fe tögs			    
Accusative     vö/fö béökhsöt	 vau/fau jümsaut    vöi/föi chfödhsöit    va/fa altepsat    vü/fü chívadsüt    ví/fí zvakíafsít    ve/fe tögset

Affirmative and negative singular pronouns also take the accusative -t, with third person pronouns also engaging the appropriate pténíörs:

sí/fí - I → sít/fít → sít/fít - me
öçek/fenfe - you → öçket*/fenfet → öçket*/fenfet - you
söb/fökh - he/she/it → söböt/fökhöt → söböt/fökhöt - him/her/it
san/fap - he/she/it → sanat/fapat → sanat/fapat - him/her/it

* N.B.: Depending on one's conceptual bent, an e has either moved or dropped.

Chü Hínabdönöks - Usage

Gentle readers may wish to brace themselves: the accusative in Géarthnuns indicates the direct object of a clause or sentence. True to Géarthnuns' SAuxOV nature, the accusative noun normally finds itself between the shléts and the main verb.

Sí la sa altensat glozh. // Fí la fa altepsat glozh.
I eat meat. // I don't eat meat.

Söb la sau jürsaut froman. // Fökh la fau jümsaut froman.
He's drinking wine. // He isn't drinking wine.

Chö ngarebs la chau teshersaut shfíkaz. // Vö ngarekhs la fau teshemsaut shfíkaz.
The dog's chasing the cat. // The dog isn't chasing the cat.

San la sí gefrölsít, arzhö fí zmenaçüfsít, rhal. // Fap la fí gefröfsít, arzhö sí zmenaçülsít, rhal.
She's reading a book, not a magazine. // She isn't reading a book, but a magazine.

Söb la sít söl. // Fökh la fít söl.
He loves me. // He loves me not.

Chö Ébebs - Possession

Different facets of alienable and inalienable possession covered by "have" in English are handled with different lexical items in Géarthnuns:

1) ven - in the sense of actual ownership or in one's immediate possession:

Sí la se töthset ven. // Fí la fe tögset ven.
I have a car. // I don't have a car.

Öçek la sau fursaut ven, mva hö? // Fenfe la fau fumsaut ven, mva hö?
You have a pen, right? // You don't have a pen, right?

2) augzébezh - in the sense of enjoying or being blessed with (family and friends, good health, trust, etc.):

Sí la chí zvakíalsít augzébezh.
I have my health.

Chö dhaubs la sau ékhlüvarsaut augzébezh, arkfö fökh la fa krömeps augzébezh.
The man has a son, but he doesn't have a daughter.

3) wéböth - in the sense of being equipped with (including body parts):

Chö béöbs la sü chívaksüt wéböth.
The house has a window.

Vau teshems la föi chfödhsöit wéböth.
The cat has no tail.

4) dvölesal - in the sense of keeping or raising an animal (Cf. Chinese: 養狗; Japanese: 犬を飼う):

Sí la sö ngarebsöt dvölesal, arkfö fí la fau teshemsaut dvölesal.
I have a dog, but I don't have a cat.

5) jurusal - used in the present tense in Géarthnuns but translated in English as past tense "had", indicating that there was a family member, friend, or perhaps pet, who is now deceased:

Sí la sa víöransat jurusal.
I had an aunt.

San la sö ngarebsöt jurusal.
She used to have a dog.

Sak Flaivonapwerinsap Sfönap - Other Example Sentences

Many verbs in Géarthnuns take a simple accusative where other languages may employ an adpositional complement.

Sí la chü zvöngiksüt zogran.
1SG-NOM AUX.PRES DEF oath-ACC be.bound
I am bound to my oath.

Fökh la vü gnödsüt izgörhath.
3SG-NOM.NEG AUX.PRES DEF.NEG crime-ACC.NEG confess
He's not confessing to the crime.

Chöi sasats la se rhebuthset thubekh.
DEF woman-NOM AUX.PRES INDEF illness-ACC recover
The woman is recovering from an illness.

Va dníövöps la ví zhgerötherhüfsít fözçalíhin.
DEF.NEG government-NOM.NEG AUX.PRES DEF.NEG exchange.rate-ACC.NEG benefit
The government is not benefitting from the exchange rate.

Chau kengaungevíers la cha funsat íaswön.
DEF farmer-NOM AUX.PRES DEF rain-ACC be.grateful
The farmer is grateful for the rain.

Fenfe la va bripsat möl.
2SG-NOM.NEG AUX.PRES DEF.NEG key.point-ACC.NEG speak
You aren't talking about the key point.

Chí seböls la cha höilkansat kaul.
DEF police-NOM AUX.PRES DEF door-ACC knock
The police are knocking on the door.

Fap la vöi kudhsöit znölön.
3SG-NOM.NEG AUX.PRES DEF.NEG question-ACC.NEG expound
She is not expounding on the question.

Chö dhaubs la chau ékhlüvarsaut rhenggeth.
DEF man-NOM AUX.PRES DEF son-ACC be.proud
The man is proud of his son.

Fí la va feldhaudepsat chlöivez.
1SG-NOM.NEG AUX.PRES DEF.NEG grass-ACC.NEG step
I'm not stepping on the grass.

[Aevas]

I know that your "as in" pronunciations are approximations and somewhat beside the point, as you do give IPA, but I thought I'd offer some minor nitpicking since they're there.

Flöjt is technically /flœjt/, with no diphthong (the pronunciation /fløjt/ does occur and is probably the usual way of transcribing it, but I would argue that this is actually an increasingly regional way of saying it). Kvav is /kv/, but technically [kv̥]. There is less friction than there would be if it had been /kf/, cf sfär /sfæ:r/and svär /svæ:r/, where both /f/ and /v/ are voiceless but the former is pronounced with more friction than the latter.

More importantly, the letter <å> is pronounced /o:/, as in å /o:/ and kål /ko:l/. Swedish has no /ɔ:/.

[Lao Kou]

Chí Gamézhahakfals - The Dative

Chü Tubílíbdönöks - Formation

A noun in the dative case singular is formed as follows:

citation form + pténíörs + -k

Examples: affirmative / negative

ngarebs → ngarebsök → ngarebsök // ngarekhs → ngarekhsök → ngarekhsök - dog
teshers → teshersauk → teshersauk // teshems → teshemsauk → teshemsauk - cat

Using the nouns below:

önöibs - blacksmith
zheters - cow
dzerats - (governmental) minister
krömens - daughter
ngrhöks - snake
thranels - host
zhiths - eagle

the paradigm thus far now looks like this:

Affirmative Singular:

Code: Select all

                  Tfömebs	           Shövars		          Spéngets			     Gwílöns             Ndöineks             Nrels             Fpaukiths

Nominative     chö/sö önöibs      chau/sau zheters	    chöi/söi dzerats 	   cha/sa krömens      chü/sü ngrhöks      chí/sí thranels      che/se zhiths			    
Accusative     chö/sö önöibsöt	 chau/sau zhetersaut    chöi/söi dzeratsöit    cha/sa krömensat    chü/sü ngrhöksüt    chí/sí thranelsít    che/se zhithset
Dative         chö/sö önöibsök    chau/sau zhetersauk    chöi/söi dzeratsöik    cha/sa krömensak    chü/sü ngrhöksük    chí/sí thranelsík    che/se zhithsek 

Negative Singular:

Code: Select all

                  Tfömebs	          Shövars		           Spéngets			     Gwílöns             Ndöineks             Nrels             Fpaukiths

Nominative     vö/fö önöikhs      vau/fau zhetems	     vöi/föi dzeradhs 	    va/fa krömeps       vü/fü ngrhöds       ví/fí thranefs       ve/fe zhigs			    
Accusative     vö/fö önöikhsöt	 vau/fau zhetemsaut     vöi/föi dzeradhsöit     va/fa krömepsat     vü/fü ngrhödsüt     ví/fí thranefsít     ve/fe zhigset
Dative         vö/fö önöikhsöt    vau/fau zhetemsauk     vöi/föi dzeradhsöik     va/fa krömepsak     vü/fü ngrhödsük     ví/fí thranefsík     ve/fe zhigsek

Affirmative and negative singular pronouns also take the dative -k, with third person pronouns engaging the appropriate pténíörs:

sí/fí - I → sík/fík → sík/fík - me
öçek/fenfe - you → öçkek/fenfek → öçkek/fenfek - you
söb/fökh - he/she/it → söbök/fökhök → söbök/fökhök - him/her/it
san/fap - he/she/it → sanak/fapak → sanak/fapak - him/her/it

Chü Hínabdönöks - Usage

1) The dative case in Géarthnuns principally indicates the indirect object of a clause or sentence. In pragmatically unmarked sentences where the direct and indirect object are both nouns, the dative noun will follow the accusative noun. The dative as indirect object occurs in sentences or clauses with verbs of giving:

1) Sí la sí vérhalsít chö dhaubsök gamez. // Fí la fí vérhafsít vö dhaukhsök gamez.
I'm giving the man a newspaper. // I'm not giving the man a newspaper.

2) Chöi sasats la sa altensat chö ngarebsök dlübef. // Vöi sasadhs la fa altepsat vö ngarekhsök dlübef.
The woman is feeding the dog some meat. // The woman isn't feeding the dog some/any meat.

3) Cha öns la chí kfasrélölsít chöi dzeratsöik kfínömníal. // Va öps la ví kfasrélöfsít vöi dzeradhsöik kfínömníal.
The queen is handing down the decree to the minister. // The queen isn't handing down the decree to the minister.

telling:

4) San la sí gefrölsít chöi sékletsöik inth. // Fap la fí gefröfsít vöi sékledhsöik inth.
She's reading a book (aloud) to her child. // She isn't reading her child a book.

5) Chau ékhlüvars la sau çörsaut chö dhabsök nskömeth. // Vau ékhlüvams la fau çömsaut vö dhakhsök nskömeth.
The son is asking his father for a florin. // The son isn't asking his father for a florin.

6) Chö aujrabs la cha mörveflahansat cha ervensak möl. // Vö aujrakhs la va mörveflahapsat va ervepsak möl.
The gardener is talking to the lady about the garden. // The gardener isn't talking to the lady about the garden.

or showing:

7) Chí thranels la chö vdujebsöt chü flanaksük radzön. // Ví thranefs la vö vdujekhsöt vü flanadsük radzön.
The host is showing the living room to his guest. // The host isn't showing the living room to his guest.

8) Söb la chau zhömauíörsaut cha maralansak köbeth. // Fökh la vau zhömauíömsaut va maralapsak köbeth.
He's introducing his friend to his mother. // He isn't introducing his friend to his mother.

9) Cha frens la chau daimeshursaut chö öbelöbsök kfel. // Va freps la vau daimeshumsaut vö öbelökhsök kfel.
The country is demonstrating its power to the world. // The country isn't demonstrating its power to the world.

[hr][/hr]
If one of the objects is a pronoun, the pronoun element comes first in a pragmatically unmarked sentence, regardless of whether it is accusative or dative:

1a) Sí la sílít chö dhaubsök gamez. // Fí la fívít vö dhaukhsök gamez.
I'm giving it to the man. // I'm not giving it to the man.

1b) Sí la söbök sí gefrölsít gamez. // Fí la fökhök fí gefröfsít gamez.
I'm giving him a book. // I'm not giving him a book.

2a) Chöi sasats la sanat chö ngarebsök dlübef. // Vöi sasadhs la fapat vö ngarekhsök dlübef.
The woman is feeding it to the dog. // The woman isn't feeding it to the dog.

2b) Chöi sasats la söbök sa altensat dlübef. // Vöi sasadhs la fökhök fa altepsat dlübef.
The woman is feeding him/her/it some meat. // The woman isn't feeding him/her/it some/any meat.

3a) Cha öns la sílít chöi dzeratsöik kfínömníal. // Va öps la fívít vöi dzeradhsöik kfínömníal.
The queen is handing it down to the minister. // The queen isn't handing it down to the minister.

3b) Cha öns la söitöik chí kfasrélölsít kfínömníal. // Va öps la föidhöik ví kfasrélöfsít kfínömníal.
The queen is handing down the decree to him/her. // The queen isn't handing down the decree to the him/her.

4a) San la sílít chöi sékletsöik inth. // Fap la fívít vöi sékledhsöik inth.
She's reading it to her child. // She isn't reading it to her child.

4b) San la söitöik sí gefrölsít inth. // Fap la föidhöik fí gefröfsít inth.
She's reading him/her a book. // She isn't reading him/her a book.

5a) Chau ékhlüvars la sauraut chö dhabsök nskömeth. // Vau ékhlüvams la faumaut vö dhakhsök nskömeth.
The son is asking his father for it. // The son isn't asking his father for it.

5b) Chau ékhlüvars la söbök sau çörsaut nskömeth. // Vau ékhlüvams la fökhök fau çömsaut nskömeth.
The son is asking him for a florin. // The son isn't asking him for a florin.

6a) Chö aujrabs la sanat cha ervensak möl. // Vö aujrakhs la fapat va ervepsak möl.
The gardener is talking to the lady about it. // The gardener isn't talking to the lady about it.

6b) Chö aujrabs la sanak cha mörveflahansat möl. // Vö aujrakhs la fapak va mörveflahapsat möl.
The gardener is talking to her about the garden. // The gardener isn't talking to her about the garden.

7a) Chí thranels la söböt chü flanaksük radzön. // Ví thranefs la fökhöt vü flanadsük radzön.
The host is showing it to his guest. // The host isn't showing it to his guest.

7b) Chí thranels la sükük chö vdujebsöt radzön. // Ví thranefs la füdük vö vdujekhsöt radzön.
The host is showing him/her the living room. // The host isn't showing him/her the living room.

8a) Söb la sauraut cha maralansak köbeth. // Fökh la faumaut va maralapsak köbeth.
He's introducing him/her to his mother. // He isn't introducing him/her to his mother.

8b) Söb la sanak chau zhömauíörsaut köbeth. // Fökh la fapak vau zhömauíömsaut köbeth.
He's introducing his friend to her. // He isn't introducing his friend to her.

9a) Cha frens la sauraut chö öbelöbsök kfel. // Va freps la faumaut vö öbelökhsök kfel.
The country is demonstrating it to the world. // The country isn't demonstrating it to the world.

9b) Cha frens la söbök chau daimeshursaut kfel. // Va freps la fökhök vau daimeshumsaut kfel.
?The country is demonstrating its power to it. // ?The country isn't demonstrating its power to it.

[hr][/hr]
If both of the objects are pronouns, the regular accusative-dative order applies:

1c) Sí la sílít söbök gamez. // Fí la fívít fökhök gamez.
I'm giving it to him. // I'm not giving it to him.

2c) Chöi sasats la sanat söbök dlübef. // Vöi sasadhs la fapat fökhök dlübef.
The woman is feeding it to him/her/it. // The woman isn't feeding it to him/her/it.

3c) Cha öns la sílít söitöik kfínömníal. // Va öps la fívít föidhöik kfínömníal.
The queen is handing it down to him/her. // The queen isn't handing it down to him/her.

4c) San la sílít söitöik inth. // Fap la fívít föidhöik inth.
She's reading it to him/her. // She isn't reading it to him/her.

5c) Chau ékhlüvars la sauraut söbök nskömeth. // Vau ékhlüvams la faumaut fökhök nskömeth.
The son is asking him for it. // The son isn't asking him for it.

6c) Chö aujrabs la sanat sanak möl. // Vö aujrakhs la fapat fapak möl.
The gardener is talking to her about it. // The gardener isn't talking to her about it.

7c) Chí thranels la söböt sükük radzön. // Ví thranefs la fökhöt füdük radzön.
The host is showing it to him/her. // The host isn't showing it to him/her.

8c) Söb la sauraut sanak köbeth. // Fökh la faumaut fapak köbeth.
He's introducing him/her to her. // He isn't introducing him/her to her.

9c) Cha frens la sauraut söbök kfel. // Va freps la faumaut fökhök kfel.
?The country is demonstrating it to it. // ?The country isn't demonstrating it to it.

[hr][/hr]
2) Some verbs may take a noun in the dative case whether there is an explicit accusative or not:

Chöi alüdzerats la cha frensak síuth.
The prime minister thanks the country.

Chöi alüdzerats la chöi shífetsöit zhö chau barförsaut cha frensak síuth.
The prime minister thanks the country for its hard work and dedication.

Öçek la sík möl.
You're speaking to me.

Öçek la sík chí shesölsít möl.
You talk to me of love.

Sí la öçkek ngílön.
I forgive you.

Sí la öçkek chü ön'gérhaksüt ngílön.
I forgive you for the accident.

3) Other verbs, which normally take a complement in the accusative, may "bump" that object to the dative if a second object is introduced:

Cha süns la chö dnöibsöt uzévíçal.
The authorities are warning the people.

Cha süns la chí thkuzalsít chö dnöibsök uzévíçal.
The authorities are warning the people about the virus.

Söb la cha krömensat rhenggeth.
He's proud of his daughter.

Söb la chö shíabsöt cha krömensak rhenggeth.
He's proud of his daughter for her accomplishment.

San la chö öbelöbsöt övebal.
She blames the world.

San la chü tlöivebuksüt chö öbelöbsök övebal.
She blames the world for her misfortune.

4) Still other verbs may simply take a dative complement, just 'cause:

Sí la chö díbsök kshulenröl.
I kneel before the king.

Chö vwélabs la chí zharíölsík thraubekh.
The actor is destined for greatness.

Chí panfals la chí sebölsík míközdön.
The thief is hiding from the police.

Chö hídhabs la cha maralansak sesinaplen.
The priest condoles with the mother.

Vau vléamems hengem la fík esaulekh.
This suit doesn't fit (me). (= it's not the right size)

5) Similarly, certain adjectives may have a complement in the dative case:

Sö ngarebs la ölvöingeb sau zhetersauk nöi.
A dog is different from a cow.

Sö ngarebs la zdornakheb söi íuzgatsöik nöi.
A dog is similar to a wolf.

6) The dative, with the verb nöi, may express alienable possession of a rather abstract nature, expressed in English by "have". In this instance, the "possessee" is in the nominative and the "possessor" is in the dative:

Sí öpuls la sík nöi.
I have a dream.

Fe dalgs techetnekeg la fapak nöi.
She isn't having a nice day.

Chík Felhakfalsíp chau Íalörsaus Toufíraus chí Sírtalsín - Third Person Singular Pronouns

Each declension has a third person pronoun which corresponds to it, both in the affirmative and negative. The nominative affirmative pronouns are formed by taking the letter sö, adding the appropriate pténíörs -- as with the singular affirmative indefinite article -- and further adding the thematic letter of the appropriate affirmative föths without its final "s". In the negative, pronouns are formed by taking the letter fíl, adding the appropriate pténíörs -- as with the singular negative indefinite article -- and further adding the thematic letter of the appropriate negative föths without its final "s". Inflection involves adding the appropriate pténíörs and a case ending.

Code: Select all

              Tfömebs	      Shövars		      Spéngets	         Gwílöns        Ndöineks       Nrels          Fpaukiths
              Aff./Neg.       Aff./Neg.          Aff./Neg.           Aff./Neg.      Aff./Neg.      Aff./Neg.      Aff./Neg.
Nominative    söb/fökh        saur/faum	       söit/föidh 	      san/fap        sük/füd        síl/fíf        seth/feg			    
Accusative    söböt/fökhöt    sauraut/faumaut	 söitöit/föidhöit 	sanat/fapat    süküt/füdüt    sílít/fívít    sethet/feget   
Dative        söbök/fökhök    saurauk/faumauk	 söitöik/föidhöik 	sanak/fapak    sükük/füdük    sílík/fívík    sethek/fegek

As can be seen in some of the examples above, with the erosion of the gender system, there are technically no dedicated pronouns for "he", "she", or "it". Each pronoun, depending on its referent, could be translated as any of the three, and so far above, for example, söb/fökh was glossed as "he/she/it". That said, because words like "father", "man", "husband", and "gentleman" are tfömebs nouns, an unspecified male personage will often use söb/fökh as the default pronoun, analogous to "he". Likewise, words like "mother", "lady", "wife", and "girl" are gwílöns nouns, so an unspecified female personage will commonly default to san/fap as "she", although if a speaker, at some level, has sasats ("woman"), a spéngets noun, in mind, s/he may less commonly use söit/föidh as the default. Outside of contextless example sentences like the ones gentle readers have encountered thus far, occasions to speak this way are relatively rare, and once a specific referent is mentioned, this usage becomes grammatically unacceptable.

Sak Flaivonapwerinsap Sfönap - Other Example Sentences

Sí la öçkek möl, arkfö fenfe la fít dimshal.
1SG-NOM AUX.PRES 2SG-DATspeak, but 2SG-NOM.NEG AUX.PRES 1SG-ACC.NEG listen
I'm speaking to you, but you're not listening to me.

Chí hengels la sík chí rhkels psönöi.
DEF this-NOM AUX.PRES 1SG-DAT DEF proper.time-NOM seem
This seems to me the proper time.

Sü bdiks la chau kízgalersaut cha frensak thaíanez.
INDEF soldier-NOM AUX.PRES DEF life-ACC DEF country-DAT dedicate
A soldier dedicates his/her life to his/her country.

Chö anebs la söbök chöi shmaiötsöit zhö chí elsít hautazh.
DEF career-NOM AUX.PRES 3SG-DAT DEF freedom-ACC and DEF satisfaction afford
His career affords him freedom and satisfaction

Vö béökhs la fö ngarekhsök, auíö sau íalörsauk, chungöríkh nöi.
DEF.NEG house-NOM.NEG AUX.PRES INDEF.NEG dog-DAT, let.alone INDEF person-DAT, suitable-NOM.NEG be
The house isn't fit for a dog, let alone a person.

Chau Sunggars la chau Amursauk mníaküchwétöz.
DEF Songhua.River AUX.PRES DEF Amur-DAT feed.water
The Songhua/Sungari River feeds (into) the Amur.

Chöi sasats la che zhithsek bwösemöl.
DEF woman-NOM AUX.PRES DEF eagle-DAT commune
The woman is communing with the eagle.

Íöhans la sa íanapfesensat cha shesansak ilmevel.
John-NOM AUX.PRES INDEF love.letter-ACC DEF lover-DAT write
John is writing his lover a billet doux.

Che helkeths la se vdílöths zçézüth sü ngrhöksük nöi.
DEF that-NOM AUX.PRES INDEF behavior-NOM characteristic-NOM INDEF snake-DAT be
That is behavior characteristic of a snake.

Vö önöikhs la fenfek höfnazhen.
DEF blacksmith-NOM.NEG AUX.PRES 2SG-DAT.NEG agree
The blacksmith doesn't agree with you.

Chöi pshilits la öçkek chü mnéöksüt techetnekeküt sheruteth.
DEF aunt-NOM AUX.PRES 2SG-DAT DEF luck-ACC beautiful-ACC wish
Your aunt wishes you good luck.

Give 'til it hurts

[Lao Kou]

Chí Nékazhahakfals - The Instrumental

Chü Tubílíbdönöks - Formation

A noun in the instrumental case singular is formed as follows:

citation form + pténíörs + -n

Examples: affirmative / negative

ngarebs → ngarebsön → ngarebsön // ngarekhs → ngarekhsön → ngarekhsön - dog
teshers → teshersaun → teshersaun // teshems → teshemsaun → teshemsaun - cat

Using the nouns below:

shöbs - magic, sorcery
hírs - (small piece of) paper
skats - horse
tamíans - gold leaf
mveks - gun
psels - carriage
síluths - smile

the paradigm thus far now looks like this:

Affirmative Singular:

Code: Select all

                   Tfömebs	         Shövars		      Spéngets			    Gwílöns            Ndöineks           Nrels            Fpaukiths

Nominative      chö/sö shöbs      chau/sau hírs	    chöi/söi skats 	   cha/sa tamíans      chü/sü mveks      chí/sí psels      che/se síluths			    
Accusative      chö/sö shöbsöt	 chau/sau hírsaut    chöi/söi skatsöit    cha/sa tamíansat    chü/sü mveksüt    chí/sí pselsít    che/se síluthset
Dative          chö/sö shöbsök    chau/sau hírsauk    chöi/söi skatsöik    cha/sa tamíansak    chü/sü mveksük    chí/sí pselsík    che/se síluthsek
Instrumental    chö/sö shöbsön    chau/sau hírsaun    chöi/söi skatsöin    cha/sa tamíansan    chü/sü mveksün    chí/sí pselsín    che/se síluthsen

Negative Singular:

Code: Select all

                   Tfömebs	        Shövars		       Spéngets			   Gwílöns           Ndöineks          Nrels           Fpaukiths

Nominative      vö/fö shökhs      vau/fau híms	    vöi/föi skadhs 	   va/fa tamíaps      vü/fü mveds      ví/fí psels      ve/fe sílugs			    
Accusative      vö/fö shökhsöt	 vau/fau hímsaut    vöi/föi skadhsöit    va/fa tamíapsat    vü/fü mvedsüt    ví/fí pselsít    ve/fe sílugset
Dative          vö/fö shökhsök    vau/fau hímsauk    vöi/föi skadhsöik    va/fa tamíapsak    vü/fü mvedsük    ví/fí pselsík    ve/fe sílugsek
Instrumental    vö/fö shökhsön    vau/fau hímsaun    vöi/föi skadhsöin    va/fa tamíapsan    vü/fü mvedsün    ví/fí pselsín    ve/fe sílugsen

---

Affirmative and negative singular pronouns also take the instrumental -n, with third person pronouns engaging the appropriate pténíörs:

First Person Singular:

Code: Select all

               Affirmative	Negative		     
Nominative         sí          fí	       			    
Accusative         sít         fít
Dative             sík         fík
Instrumental       sín         fín

Second Person Singular:

Code: Select all

               Affirmative	 Negative		     
Nominative        öçek         fenfe	       			    
Accusative        öçket        fenfet
Dative            öçkek        fenfek
Instrumental      öçken        fenfen

Third Person Singular:

Code: Select all

               Tfömebs	      Shövars		      Spéngets	         Gwílöns        Ndöineks       Nrels          Fpaukiths
               Aff./Neg.       Aff./Neg.          Aff./Neg.           Aff./Neg.      Aff./Neg.      Aff./Neg.      Aff./Neg.
Nominative     söb/fökh        saur/faum	       söit/föidh 	      san/fap        sük/füd        síl/fíf        seth/feg			    
Accusative     söböt/fökhöt    sauraut/faumaut	 söitöit/föidhöit 	sanat/fapat    süküt/füdüt    sílít/fívít    sethet/feget   
Dative         söbök/fökhök    saurauk/faumauk	 söitöik/föidhöik 	sanak/fapak    sükük/füdük    sílík/fívík    sethek/fegek
Instrumental   söbön/fökhön    sauraun/faumaun	 söitöin/föidhöin 	sanan/fapan    sükün/füdün    sílín/fívín    sethen/fegen

Chü Hínabdönöks - Usage

The instrumental case is used to mark nouns in a variety of compléments circonstantiels:

1) Means: used to mark the means by which, with which, or through which an action occurs:

Chö dhaubs la cha dhösensat sü mveksün nggavökh.
The man kills the deer with a gun.

Söb la chü karhéviksün pímath.
He travels by train.

Chau mídars la sü benaksün sírekün argnöz.
The heron is standing on one leg.

Sí la chö rhöibsöt sfaikhölöböt se taríonspauthsen fkemazh.
I contact my dead uncle through a medium.

2) Agent: indicates the agent by which or by whom a verb in a passive construction is performed:

Chí sabíöls lat cha rhégdaunsan glozh.
The cabbage is being eaten by the rabbit.

Che hengeths lat Kíkerobauthsen fuzh.
This is written by Cicero.

(more on the passive here)

As such, authorship of a written work takes the instrumental:

«Sö Sfadöbs sal Shtülansakh Pungenakh Ésh» Dikenz Charlsín
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

3) Quantity Capacity Measure: The instrumental is used in partitive constructions. The object measured takes the indefinite article followed by the measurement in the instrumental:

sau jürs söi röshetsöin
a bottle of wine

sau hörs sü buksün
a loaf of bread

sü mníaks sa etrönsan
a glass of water

sauk mídarsaup söi kfardetsöin
a group of herons

sö kawabs sí bestölsín
a cup of coffee

sö audhobs söi kílotsöin
a kilo of cheese

The object measured is inflected for its own role in the sentence:

Sau jürs söi röshetsöin la píoth.
A bottle of wine is chilling.

Fökh la fau hömsaut fü budsün glozh.
He's not eating a loaf of bread.

Sí la sü íéraksüt sü mníaksük sa etrönsan nadíwazh.
I'm adding some sugar to a glass of water.

Sauk mídarsaup söi kfardetsöin la vangaf.
A group of herons is flying.

Fí la fö kawakhsöt fí bestöfsín üraf.
I don't want a cup of coffee.

San la chau kfasharsaut sö audhobsön söi kílotsöin dvétekh.
She's banging the table with a kilo of cheese.

4) Price (with verbs like "cost" and "buy"):

Chí gefröls la sau çörsaun zhénguftel.
The book costs a florin.

Sí la sí tabötalsít sau daulörsaun vazh.
I'm buying some gum for a dollar.

5) Weight Mass (with verbs like "weigh"):

Sük la söi funtsöin zbauvez.
It weighs a pound.

6) Distance Duration (with verbs like "take", "last", and "spend"):

Che pímaths la se dalthsen haubekh.
The trip takes a day.

Sí la sa thlünsan öre sí gefrölsít ba rhal sof.
I spend a week reading a book. / It takes me a week to read a book.

Chö zodöbs la sí mailsín nzdanez.
The boy walks a mile.

7) Manner Way Fashion:

Söb la öçkek chau ruskílatöirsaun möl.
He's talking to you in Russian.

Chau vangketheglors lat chí fransélatöilsín sfa'u lapsin.
Dinner is still served à la française.

Chöi alüdzerats lat chau nzöblérsaun gaksegef.
The prime minister is elected democratically (= through democracy).

8) Goal:

San la chí fnédolsít cha géarthnunsan dhangafuzh.
She's translating the article into Géarthnuns.

9) Cause Reason:

Che chömnuthezhöths la chau nlaversaun che möküthset chöi dzeratsöib shut fsíhouzh.
Out of duty, the monarch coordinates his/her actions with his/her minister.

10) Circumstance:

Vü rhézçaudsün hengedün, fap la füdüt ngalaral.
Under the circumstances, she's not signing it.

Vau zdítnaifemsaun fökh lé ba kadiz üraf.
Originally (= under his original intent) he didn't want to go.

11) Degree:

Chü mníaks la sau selsíusíursaun ngauraun zhövakh.
Water freezes at zero degrees Celsius.

12) Material Ingredient:

Chau kfashars lat sö zhlabsön gdhalakh.
The table is made (out) of wood.

Chau garhajürs la chöi dnatsöin bzherön.
Baijiu is made from sorghum.

Chö líetuvabs hengeb la chö ötezçöbsön zçeth.
This cucumber soup tastes of dill.

13) Condition:

Sí la che hengethset sü çíksün sírekün ba dravnath ktausef.
I am willing to do this on one condition.

14) Modality:

Fü gvuzudsün, feg la swö hauthauth.
In all probability, he's not coming.

Sak Flaivonapwerinsap Sfönap - Other Example Sentences

Öçek la se gdönshuthset chöi funtsöin shath, mva hö?
2SG-NOM AUX.PRES INDEF ham-ACC DEF pound-INSTR sell, n'est-ce.pas-ADV INTERR
You sell ham by the pound, right?

Síl la chí tsérhashmölsít chí vérhalsín inth.
3SG-NOM AUX.PRES DEF report-ACC DEF newspaper-INSTR read.aloud
He's reading the report in the newspaper aloud.

Sí la chö kawabsöt sa fkerensan zhö sü íéraksün kalaf.
1SG-NOM DEF coffee-ACC INDEF cream-INSTR and INDEF sugar-INSTR would.like
I would like my coffee with cream and sugar.

Péters la cha höilkansat chü hüksün tail.
Peter-NOM AUX.PRES DEF door-ACC DEF key-INSTR open
Peter is opening the door with the key.

Lexember 23, 2014

[Lao Kou]

Chí Shövönezhdöls - The Passive

Chü Tubílíbdönöks - Formation

Voice is marked in Géarthnuns by placing a suffix on the shléts. To form the passive, it is the accusative -t of the nominal declensions which is affixed to the shléts:

la → lat → lat

la glozh - eats, is eating, does eat
lat glozh - is eaten, is being eaten

la gdez - throws, is throwing, does throw
lat gdez - is thrown, is being thrown

la inth - reads aloud, is reading aloud, does read aloud
lat inth - is read aloud, is being read aloud

Chü Hínabdönöks - Usage

From the Géarthçins perspective, as one moves from an active to a passive sentence, the direct object in the active sentence, marked by the accusative, now becomes the subject in the nominative; the accusative marker is attached to the shléts to give it its passive sense; and the original subject in the nominative becomes the agent of the passive sentence, marked by the instrumental case of the previous post:

Active:

Cha rhégdauns la chí sabíölsít glozh.
DEF rabbit-NOM AUX.PRES DEF cabbage-ACC eat
The rabbit is eating the cabbage.

Passive:

Chí sabíöls lat cha rhégdaunsan glozh.
DEF cabbage-NOM AUX.PRES.PASS DEF rabbit-INSTR eat
The cabbage is being eaten by the rabbit.

Sak Flaivonapwerinsap Sfönap - Other Example Sentences

Chau sfars la cha altensat glozh.
The lion is eating the meat.

Cha altens lat chau sfarsaun glozh.
The meat is being eaten by the lion.

Fau dhaurstenams la va altepsat glozh.
A vegetarian doesn't eat meat.

Va alteps lat fau dhaurstenamsaun glozh.
Meat is not eaten by a vegetarian.

Sau jürausfers la chau jürsaut froman.
An enologist drinks wine.

Chau jürs lat sau jürausfersaun froman.
Wine is drunk by an enologist.

Fa híshraups la vau jümsaut froman.
A monk doesn't drink wine.

Vau jüms lat fa híshraupsan froman.
Wine is not drunk by a monk.

Chö ngarebs la chau teshersaut shfíkaz.
The dog is chasing the cat.

Chau teshers lat chö ngarebsön shfíkaz.
The cat is being chased by the dog.

Vö dnöikhs la vö díkhsöt söl.
The people don't love their king.

Vö díkhs lat vö dnöikhsön söl.
The king is not loved by his people.

Sí la chü zvöngiksüt zogran.
I am bound to my oath.

Vü zvöngids lat fe jehabaugsen zogran.
The oath is not bound to by a foreigner.

Vü gnöds lat ví panfalsín izgörhath.
The crime is not being confessed to by the thief.

Ví zhgerötherhüfs lat va dníövöpsan fözçalíhin.
The exchange rate is not being benefitted from by the government.

Vöi kudhs lat vau öinömsaun znölön.
The question is not being expounded on by the teacher.

Chö dhaubs la chau ékhlüvarsaut rhenggeth.
The father is proud of his son.

Chau ékhlüvars lat chö dhaubsön rhenggeth.
The son is regarded/viewed proudly by his father.

[Lao Kou]

Chí Gamezhdöls - The Dative Passive

Chü Tubílíbdönöks - Formation

To form the dative passive, the dative -k of the nominal declensions is affixed to the shléts:

la → lak → lak

la gamez - gives, is giving, does give
lak gamez - is given, is being given

la ngamath - tells, is telling, does tell
lak ngamath - is told, is being told

la radzön - shows, is showing, does show
lak radzön - is shown, is being shown

Chü Hínabdönöks - Usage

In similar fashion to the passive, as one moves from an active to a dative passive sentence, the indirect object in the active sentence, marked by the dative, becomes the subject in the nominative; the dative marker is attached to the shléts to give it its dative passive sense; the original subject in the nominative becomes the agent of the dative passive sentence, marked by the instrumental case; and the direct object, in the accusative, remains unchanged:

Active:

Chöi sasats la sí sabíölsít cha rhégdaunsak dlübef.
DEF woman-NOM AUX.PRES INDEF cabbage-ACC DEF rabbit-DAT eat
The woman is feeding cabbage to the rabbit.

Dative Passive:

Cha rhégdauns lak sí sabíölsít chöi sasatsöin dlübef.
DEF rabbit-NOM AUX.PRES.DATPASS INDEF cabbage-ACC DEF woman-INSTR eat
The rabbit is being fed cabbage by the woman.

As such, in sentences with ditransitive verbs, it is possible for any of three elements to be brought to the fore:

Active:

Cha öns la chí kfasrélölsít chöi dzeratsöik kfínömníal.
The queen is handing down the decree to the minister.

Passive:

Chí kfasrélöls lat chöi dzeratsöik cha önsan kfínömníal.
The decree is being handed down to the minister by the queen.

Dative Passive:

Chöi dzerats lak chí kfasrélölsít cha önsan kfínömníal.
The minister is being handed (down) the decree by the queen.

The dative passive in Géarthnuns is used more extensively than its English counterpart. Certain ditransitive verbs can readily go into the dative passive in Géarthnuns where in English the usage would sound awkward and a passive or other strategy would be employed:

Sí lak chí gvíptolsít ftel.
?I am being explained the joke.
The joke is being explained to me.
I'm having the joke explained to me.

Söb lak chü öksüt kfelíknef.
?He is being pointed out the mistake.
The mistake is being pointed out to him.
He's having the mistake pointed out to him.

Sak Flaivonapwerinsap Sfönap - Other Example Sentences

Söb lak sau jürsaut sa etrönsan chü zhameksün lapsin.
He's being served a glass of wine by the waitron.

Vöi sékledhs lak va maralapsan inth.
The child is not read (aloud) to by his mother.

Vö dhaukhs lak fau çömsaut vau ékhlüvamsaun nskömeth.
The father is not being asked for a florin by his son.

Chü flanaks lak chö vdujebsöt chí thranelsín radzön.
The guest is being shown the living room by his host.

Cha frens lak chöi alüdzeratsöin chöi shífetsöit zhö chau barförsaut síuth.
The country is thanked by the prime minister for its hard work and dedication.

Chö dnöibs lak chí thkuzalsít cha sünsan uzévíçal.
The people are being warned about the virus by the authorities.

San lak chö shíabsöt chö dhaubsön rhenggeth.
She is viewed with pride by her father for her accomplishment.

Söb lak chö anebsön chöi shmaiötsöit zhö chí elsít hautazh.
He is afforded freedom and satisfaction by his career.

Chau Amurs lak chau Sunggarsaun mníaküchwétöz.
The Amur is fed into by the Songhua/Sungari River.

Ve frömaregs lak vöi kudhsöit vau öinömsaun znölön.
?The student is not being expounded on the question by the teacher. (= The student is not getting the question expounded on to him by the teacher.)

Sí lak chü mnéöksüt techetnekeküt chöi pshilitsöin sheruteth.
I am wished good luck by my aunt.

[Lao Kou]

Chí Içtebezhahakfals - The Postpositional

Chü Tubílíbdönöks - Formation

A noun in the postpositional case singular is formed as follows:

citation form + pténíörs + -b

Examples: affirmative / negative

ngarebs → ngarebsöb → ngarebsöb // ngarekhs → ngarekhsöb → ngarekhsöb - dog
teshers → teshersaub → teshersaub // teshems → teshemsaub → teshemsaub - cat

Using the nouns below:

kförhebs - sofa, settee
övwars - chair
çévöts - guéridon
höilkans - door
chívaks - window
kríçpels - wall
íths - hearth

the paradigm thus far now looks like this:

Affirmative Singular:

Code: Select all

                    Tfömebs	           Shövars		         Spéngets			     Gwílöns             Ndöineks              Nrels            Fpaukiths

Nominative      chö/sö kförhebs      chau/sau övwars	    chöi/söi çévöts 	   cha/sa höilkans      chü/sü chívaks      chí/sí kríçpels      che/se íths			    
Accusative      chö/sö kförhebsöt	 chau/sau övwarsaut    chöi/söi çévötsöit    cha/sa höilkansat    chü/sü chívaksüt    chí/sí kríçpelsít    che/se íthset
Dative          chö/sö kförhebsök    chau/sau övwarsauk    chöi/söi çévötsöik    cha/sa höilkansak    chü/sü chívaksük    chí/sí kríçpelsík    che/se íthsek
Instrumental    chö/sö kförhebsön    chau/sau övwarsaun    chöi/söi çévötsöin    cha/sa höilkansan    chü/sü chívaksün    chí/sí kríçpelsín    che/se íthsen
Postpositional  chö/sö kförhebsöb    chau/sau övwarsaub    chöi/söi çévötsöib    cha/sa höilkansab    chü/sü chívaksüb    chí/sí kríçpelsíb    che/se íthseb

Negative Singular:

Code: Select all

                    Tfömebs	           Shövars		        Spéngets			    Gwílöns             Ndöineks             Nrels          Fpaukiths

Nominative      vö/fö kförhekhs      vau/fau övwams	    vöi/föi çévödhs 	   va/fa höilkaps      vü/fü chívads      ví/fí kríçpefs      ve/fe ígs			    
Accusative      vö/fö kförhekhsöt	 vau/fau övwamsaut    vöi/föi çévödhsöit    va/fa höilkapsat    vü/fü chívadsüt    ví/fí kríçpefsít    ve/fe ígset
Dative          vö/fö kförhekhsök    vau/fau övwamsauk    vöi/föi çévödhsöik    va/fa höilkapsak    vü/fü chívadsük    ví/fí kríçpefsík    ve/fe ígsek
Instrumental    vö/fö kförhekhsön    vau/fau övwamsaun    vöi/föi çévödhsöin    va/fa höilkapsan    vü/fü chívadsün    ví/fí kríçpefsín    ve/fe ígsen
Postpositional  vö/fö kförhekhsöb    vau/fau övwamsaub    vöi/föi çévödhsöib    va/fa höilkapsab    vü/fü chívadsüb    ví/fí kríçpefsíb    ve/fe ígseb

---

Affirmative and negative singular pronouns also take the postpositional -b, with third person pronouns engaging the appropriate pténíörs:

First Person Singular:

Code: Select all

               Affirmative	Negative		     
Nominative         sí          fí	       			    
Accusative         sít         fít
Dative             sík         fík
Instrumental       sín         fín
Postpositional     síb         fíb

Second Person Singular:

Code: Select all

               Affirmative	 Negative		     
Nominative        öçek         fenfe	       			    
Accusative        öçket        fenfet
Dative            öçkek        fenfek
Instrumental      öçken        fenfen
Postpositional    öçkeb        fenfeb

Third Person Singular:

Code: Select all

                Tfömebs	      Shövars		      Spéngets	         Gwílöns        Ndöineks       Nrels          Fpaukiths
                Aff./Neg.       Aff./Neg.          Aff./Neg.           Aff./Neg.      Aff./Neg.      Aff./Neg.      Aff./Neg.
Nominative      söb/fökh        saur/faum	       söit/föidh 	      san/fap        sük/füd        síl/fíf        seth/feg			    
Accusative      söböt/fökhöt    sauraut/faumaut	 söitöit/föidhöit 	sanat/fapat    süküt/füdüt    sílít/fívít    sethet/feget   
Dative          söbök/fökhök    saurauk/faumauk	 söitöik/föidhöik 	sanak/fapak    sükük/füdük    sílík/fívík    sethek/fegek
Instrumental    söbön/fökhön    sauraun/faumaun	 söitöin/föidhöin 	sanan/fapan    sükün/füdün    sílín/fívín    sethen/fegen
Postpositional  söböb/fökhöb    sauraub/faumaub	 söitöib/föidhöib 	sanab/fapab    süküb/füdüb    sílíb/fívíb    setheb/fegeb

Chü Hínabdönöks - Usage

1) As the name of the case suggests, the adpositional system in Géarthnuns makes use of postpositions, and the object of a postposition goes into the postpositional case. While Géarthnuns has a locative case, to be covered in a later post, which does a lot of the heavy lifting situating things spatially or temporally in a clause, a postpositional phrase may often be used in its place to make the spatial or temporal relationship clearer or more specific:

Spatially:

Chau teshers la chö kförhebsöb kür héf.
The cat is sleeping on the sofa. (on the back part)

Chau teshers la chö kförhebsöb bö héf.
The cat is sleeping in the sofa. (where people normally sit)

Chau teshers la chö kförhebsöb veng héf.
The cat is sleeping next to the sofa.

Chau teshers la chö kförhebsöb köi héf.
The cat is sleeping under the sofa.

Chau teshers la chö kförhebsöb tü héf.
The cat is sleeping behind the sofa.

Chau teshers la chö kförhebsöb therme héf.
The cat is sleeping in front of the sofa.

Allative and ablative relationships may also be specified through the use of postpositional phrases:

Chau teshers la chí síbelsíb tagü fthaizçöz.
The cat jumps into the box.

Chau teshers la chí síbelsíb íau fthaizçöz.
The cat jumps out of the box.

Chau teshers la chöi çévötsöib sauköi fthaizçöz.
The cat jumps under the guéridon.

Chau teshers la chö kförhebsöb hang fthaizçöz.
The cat jumps (out) from behind the sofa.

Temporally:

Sí la sau ömkursaub srem twan.
I practice for half an hour.

Söb la sí mikhnélsít chau ékhlüvarsauk chau shebersaub içte dravnath.
He makes his son a snack after school.

Chau kengaungevíers la chö zhölökfabsöb puskau süal.
The farmer gets up before dawn.

Che frömareths la che autezgöthseb ktu öval.
The student takes notes during the lecture.

In unstressed word order where both spatial and temporal elements occur, time precedes place:

Sí la sí ngaibeçölsít sö içnebsöb ktu chí thmésidülsíb íau auz.
I get a candle from the closet during a power outage.

San la chau vangketheglorsaub içte cha münsab sorzhü vömnünzdanez.
She takes a walk around the pond after dinner.

2) Other specifying contrasts:

Saur la sík chü haileksüt gdez.
He/she is throwing the ball to me. (+ dative)

Saur la síb fko chü haileksüt gdez.
He/she is throwing the ball at me. (+ postpositional phrase)

Sí la sa hönsat cha maralansak vazh.
I'm buying a rose for my mother. (+ dative)
= I'm buying my mother a rose. (more likely interpretation) or
= I'm buying a rose in place/on behalf of my mother.

Sí la sa hönsat cha maralansab rhad vazh.
I'm buying a rose for my mother. (+ postpositional phrase)
= I'm buying a rose in place/on behalf of my mother.

3) Many SAE prepositions (with, through, over, by, without, etc.) have, unsurprisingly, roughly corresponding Géarthnuns equivalents. However, in addition, Géarthnuns has a large number of simple postpositions which translate in SAE languages as complex prepositions. Some examples:

íadzenü - for the sake of
aungíbai - in contrast with; as opposed to
bdanü - during the reign of
gíenvo - in the clutches of; under the control/thumb of
jüzçéí - under the aegis/auspices of
jö - in exchange for
tlava - at the expense of
krí - in case of
sököi - at the foot/base/bottom of
nang - around the corner from
rhu - downriver/downstream from
chlai - at the house/home of (chez)

4) sfen and thfau: Sfen, translated as "as", and thfau, often glossed as "id est" or "viz.", are considered "sister" postpositions in Géarthnuns. Sfen works much like "as", but occurs in some places where "as" may not, at least sometimes in English:

Söb la chau teshersaut Arensab sfen daz.
He calls his cat Arens. (cat ≅ Arens)

Sí la söböt chö desíöbsöb sfen öiteldrin.
I consider him (as) my brother. (he ≅ brother)

Seth la chö béöbsöt sö zheshkebsöb sfen fsurol.
3SG-NOM AUX.PRES DEF house-ACC INDEF purple.one-POST as paint
He/she's painting his/her house purple. (house → purple one)

San lé chö pebsöt sö dnoubsöb sfen dvétekh.
3SG-NOM AUX/PAST DEF metal-ACC INDEF flat.one-POST as pound
She pounded the metal flat. (metal → flat one)

Thfau oftens translates as "of" and links two elements that are the same:

Che hengeths la cha ktöins che haigenauthseb ktesechítosatheb thfau nöi.
DEF this-NOM AUX.PRES DEF principle-NOM DEF exchange-POST equivalent-POST id.est be
This is the principle of equivalent exchange. (principle = equivalent exchange)

Öçek la sa shtülansat Gdhírsaub thfau veth.
You are visiting the city of Gdhírs. (city = Gdhírs)

Sak Flaivonapwerinsap Sfönap - Other Example Sentences

Söb la chí alsíb eng nzdanez.
He's walking across the room.

Söb la chau sfaiersaub kéçö nzdanez.
He's walking across the river.

Che géarthseb warçö, cha öns la chau darsaut chö chömnuthegíbsök gamez.
DEF noblesse.oblige-POST in.accordance.with, DEF queen-NOM AUX.PRES DEF thought.into.form/action-ACC DEF monarchy-DAT give
In accordance with noblesse oblige, the queen discharges the duties of the monarchy.

Chau vörsaub veng, sa híshrauns la se ethset cha thrinsab tíezbö bdan.
DEF road-POST next.to, INDEF monk-NOM AUX.PRES INDEF alms.bowl-ACC DEF hand-POST in.the.cupped.hand.of hold
On the side of the road, a monk is holding an alms bowl in his hand.

Sí la che vdílöthset söböthet se sthéjithseb sfen dvírnaz.
1SG-NOM AUX.PRES DEF behavior-ACC 3SG.POSS.ADJ-ACC INDEF rude.one-POST as find
I find his behavior rude.

Seth la chöi shakhmatsöit chau sulmersaub ebrü íönsel.
3SG-NOM AUX.PRES DEF chess-ACC DEF master-POST against play
He is playing chess with the master.

Hengeftö sí la chö ptíbsöt cha vbínsab thfau bvéíansfal.
now 1SG-NOM AUX.PRES DEF practice-ACC DEF meditation-POST id.est enjoy
Now I'm enjoying the practice of meditation.

Síl la chí gefrölsít che vangkathseb sko che zdíathseb sko rhal.
3SG-NOM AUX.PRES DEF book-ACC DEF end-POST to DEF beginning-POST from read
He/she is reading the book from beginning to end.

Sí la che töthset chí jüfölsíb vaçka vazh.
1SG-NOM AUX.PRES DEF car-ACC DEF color-POST because.of buy
I'm buying the car for its color.

Cha ípwans lé chau bursaub ösö shöz kfö chü haileksüt gataz.
DEF girl-NOM AUX.PAST DEF tree-POST around run and DEF ball-ACC kick
The girl ran around the tree and kicked the ball.

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.

[Lao Kou]

Chí Venazhahakfals - The Genitive

Chü Tubílíbdönöks - Formation

A noun in the genitive case singular is formed as follows:

citation form + pténíörs + -s

Examples: affirmative / negative

ngarebs → ngarebsös → ngarebsös // ngarekhs → ngarekhsös → ngarekhsös - dog
teshers → teshersaus → teshersaus // teshems → teshemsaus → teshemsaus - cat

Using the nouns below:

abs - gentleman
mörs - sun
íuzgats - wolf
shtülans - city
öks - crocodile
wals - station
amureths - hotel

the paradigm thus far now looks like this:

Affirmative Singular:

Code: Select all

                   Tfömebs	        Shövars		       Spéngets			      Gwílöns           Ndöineks          Nrels            Fpaukiths

Nominative       chö/sö abs      chau/sau mörs	    chöi/söi íuzgats 	   cha/sa shtülans      chü/sü öks      chí/sí wals      che/se amureths			    
Accusative       chö/sö absöt	 chau/sau mörsaut    chöi/söi íuzgatsöit    cha/sa shtülansat    chü/sü öksüt    chí/sí walsít    che/se amurethset
Dative           chö/sö absök    chau/sau mörsauk    chöi/söi íuzgatsöik    cha/sa shtülansak    chü/sü öksük    chí/sí walsík    che/se amurethsek
Instrumental     chö/sö absön    chau/sau mörsaun    chöi/söi íuzgatsöin    cha/sa shtülansan    chü/sü öksün    chí/sí walsín    che/se amurethsen
Postpositional   chö/sö absöb    chau/sau mörsaub    chöi/söi íuzgatsöib    cha/sa shtülansab    chü/sü öksüb    chí/sí walsíb    che/se amurethseb
Genitive         chö/sö absös    chau/sau mörsaus    chöi/söi íuzgatsöis    cha/sa shtülansas    chü/sü öksüs    chí/sí walsís    che/se amurethses

Negative Singular:

Code: Select all

                   Tfömebs	       Shövars		       Spéngets			      Gwílöns          Ndöineks         Nrels          Fpaukiths

Nominative       vö/fö akhs      vau/fau möms	    vöi/föi íuzgadhs 	   va/fa shtülaps      vü/fü öds      ví/fí wafs      ve/fe amuregs			    
Accusative       vö/fö akhsöt	 vau/fau mömsaut    vöi/föi íuzgadhsöit    va/fa shtülapsat    vü/fü ödsüt    ví/fí wafsít    ve/fe amuregset
Dative           vö/fö akhsök    vau/fau mömsauk    vöi/föi íuzgadhsöik    va/fa shtülapsak    vü/fü ödsük    ví/fí wafsík    ve/fe amuregsek
Instrumental     vö/fö akhsön    vau/fau mömsaun    vöi/föi íuzgadhsöin    va/fa shtülapsan    vü/fü ödsün    ví/fí wafsín    ve/fe amuregsen
Postpositional   vö/fö akhsöb    vau/fau mömsaub    vöi/föi íuzgadhsöib    va/fa shtülapsab    vü/fü ödsüb    ví/fí wafsíb    ve/fe amuregseb
Genitive         vö/fö akhsös    vau/fau mömsaus    vöi/föi íuzgadhsöis    va/fa shtülapsas    vü/fü ödsüs    ví/fí wafsís    ve/fe amuregses

---

Affirmative and negative singular pronouns also take the postpositional -s, with third person pronouns engaging the appropriate pténíörs:

First Person Singular:

Code: Select all

               Affirmative	Negative		     
Nominative         sí          fí	       			    
Accusative         sít         fít
Dative             sík         fík
Instrumental       sín         fín
Postpositional     síb         fíb
Genitive           sís         fís

Second Person Singular:

Code: Select all

               Affirmative	 Negative		     
Nominative        öçek         fenfe	       			    
Accusative        öçket        fenfet
Dative            öçkek        fenfek
Instrumental      öçken        fenfen
Postpositional    öçkeb        fenfeb
Genitive          öçkes        fenfes

Third Person Singular:

Code: Select all

                Tfömebs	      Shövars		      Spéngets	         Gwílöns        Ndöineks       Nrels          Fpaukiths
                Aff./Neg.       Aff./Neg.          Aff./Neg.           Aff./Neg.      Aff./Neg.      Aff./Neg.      Aff./Neg.
Nominative      söb/fökh        saur/faum	       söit/föidh 	      san/fap        sük/füd        síl/fíf        seth/feg			    
Accusative      söböt/fökhöt    sauraut/faumaut	 söitöit/föidhöit 	sanat/fapat    süküt/füdüt    sílít/fívít    sethet/feget   
Dative          söbök/fökhök    saurauk/faumauk	 söitöik/föidhöik 	sanak/fapak    sükük/füdük    sílík/fívík    sethek/fegek
Instrumental    söbön/fökhön    sauraun/faumaun	 söitöin/föidhöin 	sanan/fapan    sükün/füdün    sílín/fívín    sethen/fegen
Postpositional  söböb/fökhöb    sauraub/faumaub	 söitöib/föidhöib 	sanab/fapab    süküb/füdüb    sílíb/fívíb    setheb/fegeb
Genitive        söbös/fökhös    sauraus/faumaus	 söitöis/föidhöis 	sanas/fapas    süküs/füdüs    sílís/fívís    sethes/feges

Chü Hínabdönöks - Usage

1) The genitive is used primarily to indicate some sort of possession:

Chöi mnéföts Fransas la techetneket theu nöi.
The south of France is very beautiful.

Fí la ví naswefsít ve amuregses ven.
I don’t have the address of the hotel.

Söb la chö ngérhüjebsöt chau ékhlüvarsaus zhdazh.
He's looking for his son's bicycle.

Che vlerenöths Mímíbauthses la vebuz.
Mimi’s tuberculosis is getting worse.

Che hengedalths la che zdídalths cha maralansas nöi.
Today is my mother's birthday.

In general, the genitive follows the noun on which it depends:

chí gefröls Émarsaus - Mary’s book
chü dhömaks cha shtülansas - the light of the city
cha péfuntans chö absös - the gentleman’s umbrella
chö tnauzçebs Íunaitidstétsöis - the constitution of the United States

However, exceptions, though quite rare, offer dramatic or historic import, or crop up as poetic license. For example:

chü sfuks Julíetsöis - Juliet's death (normal order)

might be rendered:

Julíetsöis sfuks chü or
Julíetsöis chü sfuks

2) The genitive may also be used attributively to describe the relationship of one thing to another:

Amaterasubauths la che dhauths níhonlatöith chau mörsaus nöi.
Amaterasu is the Japanese goddess of the sun.

Chí zhendesöls la sí hakfalígefrölsít chau mölkarharsaus jonggwauklatöiraus thképin.
The missionary is compiling a dictionary of the Chinese language.

Chö mvabs cha papöteraltensas la, shtanö seth la zçünen sho, ngrhesheb nöi.
DEF soup-NOM DEF chicken.meat-GEN AUX.PRES, when 3SG-NOM AUX.PRES be.winter PTCL, nice-NOM be
Chicken soup is nice when it's winter.

As Géarthnuns generally shuns compound nouns of more than two elements, this is an effective strategy to break down longer compounds. Thus while:

summer end sale (Cf. German: Sommerschlußverkauf)
　　
translated as:

anavangkatheshríaths
summerendsale

is understandable, albeit slightly jarring, and theoretically grammatically possible (perhaps by overzealous sound equipment salesmen), it is more often than not eschewed in favor of the more palatable:

shríaths che anavangkathses
sale of the summer(’s) end

This phenomenon has had a long standing in Géarthnuns, as can be seen by the "chicken soup" example above:

papöteraltenmvabs (lit. chicken-meat-soup)

lost out to:

mvabs cha papöteraltensas

a long time ago, and has now become a fixed expression.

3) The genitive is used as the complement of the verbs "kídauth", "belong", and "hésref", "participate in/take part in/be a part of":

Chí ftéls hereçkel la sís kídauth.
That watch belongs to me.

Chí dvelíkels hengel la chü Klüvémarangíksüs Chömnutheküs kídauth.
This painting belongs to the Royal Museum.

Fap la vau anagnaidemsaus hésref.
She is not participating in the summer's end banquet.

Öçek la chü ftomölrhaksüs chau shebersaus ba hésref daikh.
You need to participate in the class discussion.

4) When a noun has a relationship to a gerund or another noun with a verbal sense, the genitive can be used only when the noun's relationship to the gerund/verbal noun is subjective:

Sí la chau förhífazalörsaut Barishníkaufbauthses dimtel.
I'm watching Baryshnikov dance (i.e. the dancing of Baryshnikov).

Chau a'ushfenalörs chöi íuzgatsöis la psíreth.
The howling of the wolf is echoing.

Fökh la vöi bvögedhsöit ví içthlavafsís paçíen.
He doesn’t understand the workings of the computer.

Cha bíans la chö íbsöt içeböt cha shtülansas nrözh.
The mayor is reducing the city's electrical consumption.

When the noun’s relationship to the gerund/verbal noun is objective, a different sentence structure is employed, involving the accusative:

Cha bíans la höi chö içernubsöt chö íbsöt nrözh.
The mayor is reducing the consumption of electricity.

(N.B.: Cha bíans la chö íbsöt chö içernubsös nrözh.
is not possible because it is not the electricity that is doing the consuming.)

Sü mörveksüt chau mílshafözhalörs la söi thmözhaungöts nöi.
The raking of one's yard is a pleasure of doing something physical.

Bruts la höi Kaisarsaut chü nggavöksüt prauveth.
Brutus is involved in the murder of Caesar.

Very often the two structures can be combined:

Cha bíans la höi chö içernubsöt chö íbsöt cha shtülansas nrözh.
The mayor is reducing the city's consumption of electricity.

Kaisarsaut chü audhaks Brutsöis la sü ebrüzöks chö wenebsöb bö nöi.
Brutus' betrayal of Caesar is a conflict in the play.

5) To describe a noun with or without the definite article, possessive adjectives are normally used in place of personal pronouns in the genitive to express possession. Thus:

chí gefröls sítel - my book
Zhömauíörs síter! - My friend!

is preferred conversationally to:

chí gefröls sís - my book
Zhömauíörs sís! - My friend!

though the latter may be used in literary, poetic, or rhetorical contexts:

Auíö, shahöcheths löv chí vílsíb bö sís héth.
yea, someone-NOM AUX.PRESPRF DEF bed-POST in 1SG-GEN sleep
Yea, someone's been sleeping in my bed.

O, höns sís! - O, my rose!/O, rose of mine!

However, when used with a noun and an indefinite article, the personal pronoun in the genitive translates into English with a possessive pronoun or as "one of so.'s":

sau zhömauíörs sís - a friend of mine/one of my friends

Chí hengels la sí gefröls öçkes nöi, mva hö?
DEF this-NOM AUX.PRES INDEF book-NOM 2SG-GEN be, n'est-ce.pas
This is one of your books/a book of yours, isn't it?

6) The genitive is not used in a partitive sense to indicate measure or quantity. In such cases, Géarthnuns employs the instrumental case (see posting above). Hence:

I would like a glass of beer.

is translated:

Sí la se dethset sa étrönsan kalaf. (beer - accusative/glass - instrumental)

and not, as some experienced in certain European languages might expect:

Sí la sa étrönsat se dethses kalaf. (glass - accusative/beer - genitive)

Sak Flaivonapwerinsap Sfönap - Other Example Sentences

Öçek la chí mörauvöls sís nöi.
You are my sunshine.

Fökh la vöi bvögedhsöit ví içthlavafsís paçíen.
He doesn’t understand the workings of the computer.

Söit lé chü ksöfeksüt dínakfötekez kfö chí kthulsít chau sfarsaus gíf.
3SG-NOM AUX/PAST DEF thorn-ACC extract and DEF paw-ACC DEF lion-GEN bind
He pulled out the thorn and bound up the paw of the lion.

Vö zodökhs la va altepsat vü zhangkwödsüs fautail.
DEF.NEG boy-NOM.NEG AUX.PRES DEF.NEG meat-ACC.NEG DEF.NEG eel-GEN.NEG like
The boy doesn't like eel.

Chü rhéks chö díbsös la cha frensat chau vzhökezhalörs nöi.
DEF role-NOM DEF king-GEN AUX.PRES DEF country-ACC DEF serve.PRES.GER-NOM be
The role of the king is to serve the country.

Chü zhameks lé höi chö mvabsöb tagü chöi sasatsöis chau sömegezalörsaut chí knöifepelsís tel, arkfö füd lé shahövepsat ngamath.
DEF waitron-NOM AUX.PAST PTCL DEF soup-POST into DEF woman-GEN DEF jump.PRES.GER-ACC DEF spider-GEN see, but 3SG-NOM.NEG AUX.PAST anything-ACC.NEG say
The waitron saw the spider jump into the woman's soup, but didn't say anything.

[Lao Kou]

Chí Cherzhahakfals - The Locative

Chü Tubílíbdönöks - Formation

A noun in the locative case singular is formed as follows:

citation form + pténíörs + -v

Examples: affirmative / negative

ngarebs → ngarebsöv → ngarebsöv // ngarekhs → ngarekhsöv → ngarekhsöv - dog
teshers → teshersauv → teshersauv // teshems → teshemsauv → teshemsauv - cat

Using the nouns below:

beöbs - house
törs - ait
abusöbats - court
mörveflahans - garden
marangíks - building
hízhagalíköls - monastery
hengedalths - today

the paradigm thus far now looks like this:

Affirmative Singular:

Code: Select all

                  Tfömebs	        Shövars		       Spéngets			        Gwílöns               Ndöineks                Nrels                  Fpaukiths

Nominative     chö/sö beöbs     chau/sau törs	   chöi/söi abusöbats 	  cha/sa mörveflahans     chü/sü marangíks     chí/sí hízhagalíköls     che/se hengedalths    
Accusative     chö/sö beöbsöt	chau/sau törsaut   chöi/söi abusöbatsöit   cha/sa mörveflahansat   chü/sü marangíksüt   chí/sí hízhagalíkölsít   che/se hengedalthset
Dative         chö/sö beöbsök   chau/sau törsauk   chöi/söi abusöbatsöik   cha/sa mörveflahansak   chü/sü marangíksük   chí/sí hízhagalíkölsík   che/se hengedalthsek
Instrumental   chö/sö beöbsön   chau/sau törsaun   chöi/söi abusöbatsöin   cha/sa mörveflahansan   chü/sü marangíksün   chí/sí hízhagalíkölsín   che/se hengedalthsen
Postpositional chö/sö beöbsöb   chau/sau törsaub   chöi/söi abusöbatsöib   cha/sa mörveflahansab   chü/sü marangíksüb   chí/sí hízhagalíkölsíb   che/se hengedalthseb
Genitive       chö/sö beöbsös   chau/sau törsaus   chöi/söi abusöbatsöis   cha/sa mörveflahansas   chü/sü marangíksüs   chí/sí hízhagalíkölsís   che/se hengedalthses
Locative       chö/sö beöbsöv   chau/sau törsauv   chöi/söi abusöbatsöiv   cha/sa mörveflahansav   chü/sü marangíksüv   chí/sí hízhagalíkölsív   che/se hengedalthsev

Negative Singular:

Code: Select all

                   Tfömebs	        Shövars		        Spéngets			        Gwílöns                Ndöineks                Nrels                Fpaukiths

Nominative      vö/fö beökhs      vau/fau töms	    vöi/föi abusöbadhs 	   va/fa mörveflahaps      vü/fü marangíds      ví/fí hízhagalíköfs      ve/fe hengedalgs 
Accusative      vö/fö beökhsöt	 vau/fau tömsaut    vöi/föi abusöbadhsöit    va/fa mörveflahapsat    vü/fü marangídsüt    ví/fí hízhagalíköfsít    ve/fe hengedalgset
Dative          vö/fö beökhsök    vau/fau tömsauk    vöi/föi abusöbadhsöik    va/fa mörveflahapsak    vü/fü marangídsük    ví/fí hízhagalíköfsík    ve/fe hengedalgsek
Instrumental    vö/fö beökhsön    vau/fau tömsaun    vöi/föi abusöbadhsöin    va/fa mörveflahapsan    vü/fü marangídsün    ví/fí hízhagalíköfsín    ve/fe hengedalgsen
Postpositional  vö/fö beökhsöb    vau/fau tömsaub    vöi/föi abusöbadhsöib    va/fa mörveflahapsab    vü/fü marangídsüb    ví/fí hízhagalíköfsíb    ve/fe hengedalgseb
Genitive        vö/fö beökhsös    vau/fau tömsaus    vöi/föi abusöbadhsöis    va/fa mörveflahapsas    vü/fü marangídsüs    ví/fí hízhagalíköfsís    ve/fe hengedalgses
Locative        vö/fö beökhsöv    vau/fau tömsauv    vöi/föi abusöbadhsöiv    va/fa mörveflahapsav    vü/fü marangídsüv    ví/fí hízhagalíköfsív    ve/fe hengedalgsev

---

Affirmative and negative singular pronouns also take the locative -v, with third person pronouns engaging the appropriate pténíörs:

First Person Singular:

Code: Select all

               Affirmative	Negative		     
Nominative         sí          fí	       			    
Accusative         sít         fít
Dative             sík         fík
Instrumental       sín         fín
Postpositional     síb         fíb
Genitive           sís         fís
Locative           sív         fív

Second Person Singular:

Code: Select all

               Affirmative	 Negative		     
Nominative        öçek         fenfe	       			    
Accusative        öçket        fenfet
Dative            öçkek        fenfek
Instrumental      öçken        fenfen
Postpositional    öçkeb        fenfeb
Genitive          öçkes        fenfes
Locative          öçkev        fenfev

Third Person Singular:

Code: Select all

                Tfömebs	      Shövars		      Spéngets	         Gwílöns        Ndöineks       Nrels          Fpaukiths
                Aff./Neg.       Aff./Neg.          Aff./Neg.           Aff./Neg.      Aff./Neg.      Aff./Neg.      Aff./Neg.
Nominative      söb/fökh        saur/faum	       söit/föidh 	      san/fap        sük/füd        síl/fíf        seth/feg			    
Accusative      söböt/fökhöt    sauraut/faumaut	 söitöit/föidhöit 	sanat/fapat    süküt/füdüt    sílít/fívít    sethet/feget   
Dative          söbök/fökhök    saurauk/faumauk	 söitöik/föidhöik 	sanak/fapak    sükük/füdük    sílík/fívík    sethek/fegek
Instrumental    söbön/fökhön    sauraun/faumaun	 söitöin/föidhöin 	sanan/fapan    sükün/füdün    sílín/fívín    sethen/fegen
Postpositional  söböb/fökhöb    sauraub/faumaub	 söitöib/föidhöib 	sanab/fapab    süküb/füdüb    sílíb/fívíb    setheb/fegeb
Genitive        söbös/fökhös    sauraus/faumaus	 söitöis/föidhöis 	sanas/fapas    süküs/füdüs    sílís/fívís    sethes/feges
Locative        söböv/fökhöv    saurauv/faumauv	 söitöiv/föidhöiv 	sanav/fapav    süküv/füdüv    sílív/fívív    sethev/fegev

Chü Hínabdönöks - Usage

The locative case is the last case of the paradigm and is used to mark nouns in certain compléments circonstantiels:

1) In a truly locative sense, it used to mark:

Time: the time when an action occurs:

Chü Öbelöbögadaks Pungefík lé che sömöthsev 1945fíthev vangkath.
World War II ended in the year 1945.

Sí zhö söb la chau míarsauv hauí vangketh.
He and I have dinner together in the evening.

Place/Location: the place where an actions occurs:

Sí lí öçket chí walsív çíbrön.
I’ll meet you at the station.

Chau zheters la chü ngejöksüv saralöth -- seth lí fun.
The cow is lying in the field -- it's going to rain.

When both time and place occur in the same phrase, the normal word order in Géarthnuns is time before place (see postpositional post, usage 1, above):

San lí che helkedalthsev chö béöbsöv semekadiz.
She is going home tomorrow.

Kolombo Krístofors lé che sömöthsev 1492fíthev chö Öbelöbsöv Rhashpeböv azhakh.
Christopher Columbus arrived in the New World in the year 1492.

Word order may be reversed to place before time, placing an emphasis on the location:

Söb la Fukuokasarsauv, arzhö Tokíosamsauv, che hengedalthsev vangaf.
He is flying to Fukuoka, not Tokyo, today.

In expressions of either time and place, Géarthnuns also normally places the larger elements before the smaller ones:

San la Vabríéhilsív Chekhlatöilív Prahasarsauv han.
She lives in Prague in the Czech Republic.

Oshans zhö Bítebs la chí sringelsív chö twímöifebsöv bözh.
Grandmother and Grandfather are sitting in the swing on the porch.

Chí zhökfervdíezhels la cha segensav cha thrönsav rhalfínav rhöiveth.
The alarm clock goes off at six o’clock in the morning.

Che zdídalths lü che 1972fíthsev stebösersöv mal.
His birthday was in March, 1972.

2) The locative, however, is rather flexible in interpretation, so it may be used in an ablative sense to mark:

Time: the time since when an action has been occuring:

Sí lö cha hengesegensav cha thrönsav sebutfínav vabereb nöi.
I’ve been up since four o’clock this morning.

Place/Location: the place whence a subject comes or goes:

Öçek lü Polskasarsauv thauth, mva hö?
You come from Poland, right?

Cha gamvöns la Shanghaisarsauv sítöz.
The ship is arriving from Shanghai.
(Or, in a different context: "The ship is arriving in Shanghai.")

3) It may also be used in an allative sense to mark:

Time: the time until/for when an action occurs:

Saur la chí gílsít che helkedalthsev brésngal.
He/She is postponing the meeting until tomorrow.

Place/Location: the place whither a subject comes or goes:

Síl la Vladívaustauksüv híöjan.
He/She is sailing to Vladivostok.
(Or, in a different context: "He/She is sailing from Vladivostok.")

In sentences with a "from ... to ... " structure, the two locatives follow the same basic order as English:

Cha mvöns la Nakhautkasarsauv Gdhírsauv ératömnez.
The boat ferries from Nahodka to Gdhírs.

Sí la chü karhéviksün Budapeshtsöiv Mauskvasarsauv kadiz.
I'm going by train from Budapest to Moscow.

Niksöns lé chau alüdlers che 1968fíthsev che 1974fíthsev nöi.
Nixon was president from 1968 to 1974.

4) When the context is clear, the locative may replace many postpositional phrases describing place:

Chau teshers la la chau övwarsauv héf.
The cat's sleeping on/under/behind/in front of/near the chair.

Sí la söi ömbíötsöit chau bursauv tel.
I see a bird in/under/on top of the tree.

Chau teshers la chí síbelsív nadífthaizçöz.
The cat jumps into the box.

Chau teshers la chí síbelsív dínafthaizçöz.
The cat jumps out of the box.

Chau teshers la chöi çévötsöiv fthaizçöz.
The cat jumps under the guéridon.

When the context is ambiguous, a postpositional phrase can replace nearly any expression in the locative:

Cha gamvöns la Shanghaisarsaub ai sítöz.
The ship is arriving from Shanghai.

Síl la Vladívaustauksüb öm híöjan.
He/She is sailing to Vladivostok.

Chau teshers la chau övwarsaub köi mal.
The cat's sleeping under the chair.

Sí la söi ömbíötsöit chau bursaub kür tel.
I see a bird on top of the tree.

5) The locative is used as the complement of verbs like "palenguf", "leave", which may take direct objects in other languages:

Sí lé sa laitürönsat vazh kfö cha gater'hensav palenguf.
I bought a gift and left the department store.

Öçek la cha frensav chelöi höpalenguf?
Why are you leaving the country?

Some other verbs behaving this way:

azhakh - reach
dínakadiz - depart, exit, go out
dínathauth - depart, exit, come out
dínashöth - get out (of)
zhdöpal - evacuate
maloshöth - get off
röileban - join
halsöf - settle

6) With the notion that the locative sets a backdrop against which an event occurs, Géarthnuns has a locative structure analogous to the ablative absolute of Latin, the locative absolute of Sanskrit, or the nominative absolute of certain modern European languages:

Chau srélöltölörsauv che höthses, chöi ngelíthlets la chöi zhgerhutsöit braf.
DEF declare.PRESPRF.PASS.GER-LOC DEF peace-GEN, DEF rival.lord-NOM AUX.PRES DEF army-ACC recall
Peace having been declared, the rival lord is calling off his army.

Frants Ferdinantsöit Gahéríölsít chí chü ötvéksüv, chü Öbelöbögadaks Sírfík lét kíkfeth.
Francis.Ferdinand-ACC Archduke-ACC DEF DEF assassination-LOC, DEF World.War-NOM First-NOM AUX.PAST.PASS initiate
World War I started after the assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand.

The core of this structure is a gerund or noun with a verbal sense in the locative case:

Chau ngamathtölörsauv che hereçkethses, fí la orha ve hengegset va rhengepsan dlakhapan ba dimtel ten.
DEF say.PRESPRF.PASS.GER-LOC DEF that-GEN, 1SG-NOM.NEG AUX.PRES and DEF.NEG this-ACC.NEG DEF.NEG perspective-INSTR.NEG different-INSTR.NEG PTCL look must
That having been said, I must look at it from a different perspective.

Chü marangíksüt sherönuküt che híenzöthsev, sö dnévözhebs rhashpeb la bat öf kalokh.
DEF building-ACC old-ACC DEF destruction-LOC, INDEF park-NOM new-NOM AUX.PRES PTCL.PASS construct be.able
With the destruction of the old building, a new park can be constructed.

Since the locative phrase most often occurs at the beginning of a sentence, a particle, höi, is optional and therefore seldom used (as in the four sentences above). However, when the locative phrase is embedded within the sentence, the höi is no longer optional and must be used:

Cha ngíeshöns lé, höi chí dwílsít chau ashalölörsauv, chü juteksüv palenguf kfö semekadiz.
The worker, upon the blowing of the whistle, left the factory and went home.

Cha rhefürçörens la, höi cha knönsat chau wökhölörsauv chau mörsaus, uzh.
The crocus, after the sun's melting of the snow, is blossoming.

Sak Flaivonapwerinsap Sfönap - Other Example Sentences

Che fansömöthsev che jdaiöthsev hengethev, sí la cha haransav ba kadiz híau bvéíansfal.
DEF every.year-LOC DEF time-LOC this-LOC, 1SG-NOM AUX.PRES DEF sea-LOC PTCL go all-ADV enjoy
At this time of year, I like to go to the sea.

Chí aidals la chau jursauv zçünahéf.
DEF bear-NOM AUX.PRES DEF den-LOC hibernate.
The bear is hibernating in its den.

Chau gzhuvezhtölörsauv cha shtülansas, chü bdiks lé palenguf.
DEF capture-PRESPRF.PASS.GER-LOC DEF city-GEN, DEF soldier-NOM AUX.PAST depart
The city having been captured, the soldier departed.

Cha shtülansat chau gzhuvezhölörsauv söbös, chö dhnezçaubs lé palenguf.
DEF city-ACC DEF capture-PRESPRF.GER-LOC 3SG-GEN, DEF general-NOM AUX.PAST depart
(Against the backdrop of) his having captured the city, the general departed.

At...my...leaves for...

Lexember 31, 2014

[Lao Kou]

Chí Toutals - The Plural

Chíkh Sömaut'hakfalsíth Ngkafílíth zhö Gnöingkafílíth - The Definite and Indefinite Articles

As discussed above, articles agree with the nouns they modify in declension, number, and polarity, but not in case. Forms above were given for declension and polarity, and now number is examined in part. The plural definite and indefinite articles are formed by adding the letter kí to the corresponding singular:

Affirmative Forms:

Code: Select all

Declension                  Definite                               Indefinite			

Tfömebs				 chök ngarebsöp - the dogs             sök ngarebsöp - (some) dogs
Shövars			    chauk teshersaup - the cats           sauk teshersaup - (some) cats 
Spéngets			   chöik papaketsöip - the babies        söik papaketsöip - (some) babies
Gwílöns             chak frensap - the countries          sak frensap - (some) countries    
Ndöineks				chük rhabaksüp - the fools            sük rhabaksüp - (some) fools 
Nrels				   chík ösfandílsíp - the artists        sík ösfandílsíp - (some) artists		
Fpaukiths           chek förhífathsep - the dancers       sek förhífathsep - (some) dancers

Negative Forms:

Code: Select all

Declension			         Definite		                         Indefinite			

Tfömebs				 vök ngarekhsöp - the dogs             fök ngarekhsöp - (some) dogs
Shövars			    vauk teshemsaup - the cats            fauk teshemsaup - (some) cats 
Spéngets			   vöik papakedhsöip - the babies        föik papakedhsöip - (some) babies 
Gwílöns             vak frepsap - the countries           fak frepsap - (some) countries     
Ndöineks			   vük rhabadsüp - the fools             fük rhabadsüp - (some) fools 
Nrels				   vík ösfandífsíp - the artists         fík ösfandífsíp - (some) artists		
Fpaukiths           vek förhífagsep - the dancers         fek förhífagsep - (some) dancers 

N.B.: The affirmative indefinite plural article may be translated as "some" or not translated at all; the negative may be translated as "some", "any", or not translated at all:

sauk teshersaup - (some) cats
fauk teshemsaup - (some/any) cats

Chauk Zhahakfalíchorsauch chí Toutalsín chü Tubílíbdönöks - Formation of Cases in the Plural

Plural forms of the cases are inflected as follows:

Nominative Plural:

citation form + pténíörs + -p

Examples: affirmative / negative

ngarebs → ngarebsöp → ngarebsöp // ngarekhs → ngarekhsöp → ngarekhsöp - dogs
teshers → teshersaup → teshersaup // teshems → teshemsaup → teshemsaup - cats

Accusative Plural:

citation form + pténíörs + -ch

Examples: affirmative / negative

ngarebs → ngarebsöch → ngarebsöch // ngarekhs → ngarekhsöch → ngarekhsöch - dogs
teshers → teshersauch → teshersauch // teshems → teshemsauch → teshemsauch - cats

Dative Plural:

citation form + pténíörs + -l

Examples: affirmative / negative

ngarebs → ngarebsöl → ngarebsöl // ngarekhs → ngarekhsöl → ngarekhsöl - dogs
teshers → teshersaul → teshersaul // teshems → teshemsaul → teshemsaul - cats

Instrumental Plural:

citation form + pténíörs + -f

Examples: affirmative / negative

ngarebs → ngarebsöf → ngarebsöf // ngarekhs → ngarekhsöf → ngarekhsöf - dogs
teshers → teshersauf → teshersauf // teshems → teshemsauf → teshemsauf - cats

Postpositional Plural:

citation form + pténíörs + -d

Examples: affirmative / negative

ngarebs → ngarebsöd → ngarebsöd // ngarekhs → ngarekhsöd → ngarekhsöd - dogs
teshers → teshersaud → teshersaud // teshems → teshemsaud → teshemsaud - cats

Genitive Plural:

citation form + pténíörs + -ng

Examples: affirmative / negative

ngarebs → ngarebsöng → ngarebsöng // ngarekhs → ngarekhsöng → ngarekhsöng - dogs
teshers → teshersaung → teshersaung // teshems → teshemsaung → teshemsaung - cats

Locative Plural:

citation form + pténíörs + -sh

Examples: affirmative / negative

ngarebs → ngarebsösh → ngarebsösh // ngarekhs → ngarekhsösh → ngarekhsösh - dogs
teshers → teshersaush → teshersaush // teshems → teshemsaush → teshemsaush - cats


Using the nouns below:

bítebs - grandfather
gazhbéörs - grandparent
pshilits - aunt
oshans - grandmother
bdiks - soldier
zhagöls - sinner
bleths - husband

the plural form paradigm looks like this:

Affirmative Plural:

Code: Select all

                    Tfömebs	              Shövars		             Spéngets			      Gwílöns            Ndöineks             Nrels              Fpaukiths

Nominative     chök/sök bítebsöp    chauk/sauk gazhbéörsaup   chöik/söik pshilitsöip 	chak/sak oshansap   chük/sük bdiksüp   chík/sík zhagölsíp   chek/sek blethsep 
Accusative     chök/sök bítebsöch   chauk/sauk gazhbéörsauch  chöik/söik pshilitsöich   chak/sak oshansach  chük/sük bdiksüch  chík/sík zhagölsích  chek/sek blethsech
Dative         chök/sök bítebsöl    chauk/sauk gazhbéörsaul   chöik/söik pshilitsöil    chak/sak oshansal   chük/sük bdiksül   chík/sík zhagölsíl   chek/sek blethsel
Instrumental   chök/sök bítebsöf    chauk/sauk gazhbéörsauf   chöik/söik pshilitsöif    chak/sak oshansaf   chük/sük bdiksüf   chík/sík zhagölsíf   chek/sek blethsef
Postpositional chök/sök bítebsöd    chauk/sauk gazhbéörsaud   chöik/söik pshilitsöid    chak/sak oshansad   chük/sük bdiksüd   chík/sík zhagölsíd   chek/sek blethsed
Genitive       chök/sök bítebsöng   chauk/sauk gazhbéörsaung  chöik/söik pshilitsöing   chak/sak oshansang  chük/sük bdiksüng  chík/sík zhagölsíng  chek/sek blethseng
Locative       chök/sök bítebsösh   chauk/sauk gazhbéörsaush  chöik/söik pshilitsöish   chak/sak oshansash  chük/sük bdiksüsh  chík/sík zhagölsísh  chek/sek blethsesh

Negative Plural:

Code: Select all

                     Tfömebs	             Shövars		             Spéngets			       Gwílöns            Ndöineks             Nrels             Fpaukiths

Nominative      vök/fök bítekhsöp    vauk/fauk gazhbéömsaup	 vöik/föik pshilidhsöip 	vak/fak oshapsap    vük/fük bdidsüp    vík/fík zhagöfsíp    vek/fek blegsep 
Accusative      vök/fök bítekhsöch	vauk/fauk gazhbéömsauch   vöik/föik pshilidhsöich   vak/fak oshapsach   vük/fük bdidsüch   vík/fík zhagöfsích   vek/fek blegsech
Dative          vök/fök bítekhsöl    vauk/fauk gazhbéömsaul    vöik/föik pshilidhsöil    vak/fak oshapsal    vük/fük bdidsül    vík/fík zhagöfsíl    vek/fek blegsel
Instrumental    vök/fök bítekhsöf    vauk/fauk gazhbéömsauf    vöik/föik pshilidhsöif    vak/fak oshapsaf    vük/fük bdidsüf    vík/fík zhagöfsíf    vek/fek blegsef
Postpositional  vök/fök bítekhsöd    vauk/fauk gazhbéömsaud    vöik/föik pshilidhsöid    vak/fak oshapsad    vük/fük bdidsüd    vík/fík zhagöfsíd    vek/fek blegsed
Genitive        vök/fök bítekhsöng   vauk/fauk gazhbéömsaung   vöik/föik pshilidhsöing   vak/fak oshapsang   vük/fük bdidsüng   vík/fík zhagöfsíng   vek/fek blegseng
Locative        vök/fök bítekhsösh   vauk/fauk gazhbéömsaush   vöik/föik pshilidhsöish   vak/fak oshapsash   vük/fük bdidsüsh   vík/fík zhagöfsísh   vek/fek blegsesh

---

As in the singular, affirmative and negative plural pronouns have unmarked citation forms in the nominative. The other cases take the standard plural case endings, with third person pronouns engaging the appropriate pténíörs:

First Person Plural:

Code: Select all

                  Affirmative	   Negative		     
Nominative         makhlama        pantala	       			    
Accusative         makhlamach      pantalach
Dative             makhlamal       pantalal
Instrumental       makhlamaf       pantalaf
Postpositional     makhlamad       pantalad
Genitive           makhlamang      pantalang
Locative           mahlamash       pantalash

Second Person Plural:

Code: Select all

                 Affirmative	    Negative		     
Nominative         kfazh            hésh	       			    
Accusative         kfazhach         héshech
Dative             kfazhal          héshel
Instrumental       kfazhaf          héshef
Postpositional     kfazhad          héshed
Genitive           kfazhang         hésheng
Locative           kfazhash         héshesh

Third Person Plural:

Code: Select all

                Tfömebs	         Shövars		         Spéngets	            Gwílöns           Ndöineks          Nrels             Fpaukiths
                Aff./Neg.          Aff./Neg.             Aff./Neg.              Aff./Neg.         Aff./Neg.         Aff./Neg.         Aff./Neg.
Nominative      rhöb/ngökh         rhaur/ngaum	        rhöit/ngöidh 	       rhan/ngap         rhük/ngüd         rhíl/ngíf         rheth/ngeg			    
Accusative      rhöböch/ngökhöch   rhaurauch/ngaumauch	rhöitöich/ngöidhöich   rhanach/ngapach   rhüküch/ngüdüch   rhílích/ngífích   rhethech/ngegech   
Dative          rhöböl/ngökhöl     rhauraul/ngaumaul	  rhöitöil/ngöidhöil 	 rhanal/ngapal     rhükül/ngüdül     rhílíl/ngífíl     rhethel/ngegel
Instrumental    rhöböf/ngökhöf     rhaurauf/ngaumauf	  rhöitöif/ngöidhöif 	 rhanaf/ngapaf     rhüküf/ngüdüf     rhílíf/ngífíf     rhethef/ngegef
Postpositional  rhöböd/ngökhöd     rhauraud/ngaumaud	  rhöitöid/ngöidhöid     rhanad/ngapad     rhüküd/ngüdüd     rhílíd/ngífíd     rhethed/ngeged
Genitive        rhöböng/ngökhöng   rhauraung/ngaumaung	rhöitöing/ngöidhöing   rhanang/ngapang   rhüküng/ngüdüng   rhílíng/ngífíng   rhetheng/ngegeng
Locative        rhöbösh/ngökhösh   rhauraush/ngaumaush	rhöitöish/ngöidhöish   rhanash/ngapash   rhüküsh/ngüdüsh   rhílísh/ngífísh   rhethesh/ngegesh

Chü Hínabdönöks - Usage

1) Since there is no noun-verb concord in Géarthnuns, plurality has no affect on the verbal complex:

Se nggarhaths la söik skatsöich dimtel.
A sheep is looking at (some) horses.

Söik skatsöip la se nggarhathset dimtel.
Some horses are looking at a sheep.

Föik thaudhsöip la fökhöt ma'uz.
Mosquitoes don't bite him.

Fökh lat föik thaudhsöif ma'uz.
He doesn't get bitten by mosquitoes.

Chí vebüthrelsíb içte, chauk kfírsaup la chak ftalansal sesinaplen.
After the disaster, the leaders are condoling with the families.

Chí vebüthrelsíb içte, chak ftalansap lak chauk kfírsauf sesinaplen.
?After the disaster, the families are being condoled with by the leaders.

2) When nouns are modified by a number, they are also accompanied by an article, most often indefinite. For three or more items, that involves the plural indefinite article:

Sí la chau övwarsaut hengeraut sauk çörsauf pungekashaderauf vazh.
I'm buying this chair for two hundred florins.

Söb la sak krömensach sebutenach augzébezh.
He has four daughters.

Saur la söik funtsöif 170töif zbauvez.
He/She weighs 170 pounds.

Sak Flaivonapwerinsap Sfönap - Other Example Sentences

Rhöb la cha öbwensav kadiz.
They're going to market.

Cha frens makhlamang lé sek sömöthsed 200ethed thenge sa chömnuthefrens vanöi.
DEF country-NOM 1PL-GEN AUX.PAST INDEF.PL year-POST.PL 200-POST.PL ago INDEF monarchy-NOM become
Our country became a monarchy 200 years ago.

Chö fadülobs lat chek tlorazölöthsef fuzh.
DEF history-NOM AUX.PRES.PASS DEF.PL win.PRESPRF.PTPL.one-INSTR.PL write
History is written by the winners.

Chöik sékletsöip lak sö sfadöbsöt chö bítebsön inth.
DEF.PL child-NOM.PL AUX.PRES.DATPASS INDEF story DEF grandfather-INSTR read.aloud
The children are being read a story by their grandfather.

Söb la sö hídesíöbörhenebsöv, öre chük gnöksüch chek vnölöthsel ba mnaçauf han.
3SG-NOM AUX.PRES INDEF monastery-LOC, in.order DEF.PL crime-ACC.PL DEF.PL victim-DAT.PL PTCL atone live
He is living in a monastery to make amends to his victims for his crimes.

Che pímaths la sek dalthsef palavethef haubekh.
DEF trip-NOM AUX.PRES INDEF.PL day-INSTR.PL five-INSTR.PL take
The trip takes five days.

Sek thípöbauthsep pungekashad palavmnöthep íe lat sek sfaikhölöthsed sfen hengegíau jwenöireth.
INDEF.PL miner-NOM.PL two.hundred fifty-NOM.PL more-AdADJ AUX.PRES.PASS INDEF.PL dead.one-POST.PL as hitherto confirm
Over two hundred and fifty miners are now confirmed dead.

We with my friends at my father's place