Grammuary 2018

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ixals
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Re: Grammuary 2018

Post by ixals »

Lambuzhao wrote: 04 Jan 2018 18:40 Lexember
Grammuary

What's next, I wunder?
How about we switch every month? Vocabruary, Grammarch? [:P]
Native: :deu:
Learning: :gbr:, :chn:, :tur:, :fra:

Zhér·dûn a tonal Germanic conlang

old stuff: Цiски | Noattȯč | Tungōnis Vīdīnōs
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Re: Grammuary 2018

Post by gestaltist »

Grammuary 5th - Nakarian

I have revised some morphophonological rules and put them in my grammar file. A good 2 hours of work but nothing to show for it here.
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Re: Grammuary 2018

Post by cedh »

ixals wrote: 04 Jan 2018 19:50
Lambuzhao wrote: 04 Jan 2018 18:40 Lexember
Grammuary

What's next, I wunder?
How about we switch every month? Vocabruary, Grammarch? [:P]
Last year somebody somewhere announced a challenge called Verbruary.
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Re: Grammuary 2018

Post by spanick »

Day 5

Trińat declines Class A-3 and Class I nouns according to six cases (Nominative, Ergative, Dative, Genitive, Instrumental, and Ablative) and two numbers (singular and plural). Unlike the other classes of nouns, they never take a gendered thematic vowel.

Class A-3 Declension
Spoiler:
Singular/Plural
Nom -Ø/-s
Erg -th/-i
Gen -i/-ui
Dat -s/-si
Ins-vi/-vi
Abl -st/-ste
Class A-3 Declension
Spoiler:
Singular/Plural
Nom -Ø/-h
Erg -t/-i
Gen -i/-ui
Dat -h/-hi
Ins-vi/-vi
Abl -st/-ste
Dnukta'u does not distinguish between singular and plural in the past or future tenses.
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Re: Grammuary 2018

Post by Khemehekis »

January 6

When "it" means "the person it turns/turned out to be", this is often expressed in Kankonian with a descriptive phrase:

Jim aparen palat, mui piva az palatenen bein en Kate.
Jim feel-PST tap_on_the_shoulder and girl REL tap_on_the_shoulder-PST-PST boy PST Kate
Jim felt a tap on his shoulder, and it was Kate.

But "meya" (person) can also be used:

Jim aparen palat, mui meya en Kate.
Jim feel-PST tap_on_the_shoulder and person PST Kate
Jim felt a tap on his shoulder, and it was Kate.

In newborn gender announcements, "efesh" (baby) is used for "it":

Efesh as makeke!
baby PRS boy
It's a boy!
♂♥♂♀

Squirrels chase koi . . . chase squirrels

My Kankonian-English dictionary: 86,336 words and counting

31,416: The number of the conlanging beast!
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Re: Grammuary 2018

Post by Khemehekis »

January 7

Possessives are not used with object nominals describing knowledge, nor with diet:

Zwaniz ad is esmiyass safga kamshitmuyas.
sister to 1s learn-PRS PROG ABC's
My sister is learning her ABC's.

Ar ukal we os hauess egirerobes na gohup.
2s clear ADV NEG know-PRS combination-PL of multiplication
You clearly don't know your multiplication tables.

Murtha novosen pure *in az notas ad wan abamosen virtlas.
Murtha try-PST always get that child-PL to 3s eat-FUT-PST vegetable-PL
Murtha always tried to get her children to eat their vegetables.

But may be used with subject nominals:

Shaleyik na is as swe kmofoshi.
Shaleya-ian of 1s PRS slightly rusty
My Shaleyan is a little rusty.
Last edited by Khemehekis on 07 Jan 2018 17:32, edited 1 time in total.
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Squirrels chase koi . . . chase squirrels

My Kankonian-English dictionary: 86,336 words and counting

31,416: The number of the conlanging beast!
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Re: Grammuary 2018

Post by Davush »

Adverbs may appear sentence initially or after a subject, but not between object and verb.

Haccin (ná) vahraṃ ícsĭrĭn ( / Ná haccin vahraṃ íscĭrĭn / *Ná vahraṃ haccin íscĭrĭn. )
yesterday (I) wood.ACC chop.PAST.1
I chopped the wood yesterday
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Re: Grammuary 2018

Post by gestaltist »

Nakarian 6-7

I have decided that Nakarian adjectives will be static verbs after all. Since Nakarian verb phrases obligatorily use a light verb + a content verb in a participial form, I have also decided that verb participles can be used as noun complements. Coupled with noun incorporation, this gives Nakarian the flexibility to replicate possessive and passive constructions:
wound-bearing man = wounded man
man-belonging hat = man’s hat - direct genitive
hat-having man = inverted genitive

One difficulty is with nesting adjectives: eg. “the beautiful man’s hat”, since complex noun phrases cannot be incorporated. This is being overcome by using direct or inverted genitive depending on where you need to put the adjective:
“hat-having beautiful-being man” vs
“man-belonging old-being hat”

If both the possessor and the possessed need a complement, it is usually solved with complex clauses or topical constructions:
hat-TOP, it beautiful-is and it to-beautiful-being man belongs.

Sorry for the weird glosses.
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Re: Grammuary 2018

Post by gestaltist »

Nakarian 8

Nakarian uses coverbs for tense. They can be put on the aux or on the participle with a change in meaning:
I am beautiful-PST = I am someone who was beautiful. (Experiential, Perfect).
I am-PST beautiful. = I was someone who is beautiful. (Speaking about past)

Coverbs will likely include past, future, iterative, durative, completive, inchoative, causative, irrealis, intensive, negative.

They can be combined:

I am-INCH sing-ITER.
I will be regularly singing from now on.
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Re: Grammuary 2018

Post by Khemehekis »

January 8

This one goes under the "Only" heading of my Kankonian grammar:



When "only" has an implication of "but", the word amoul is used instead of oul:

Emenos er venyas as oor emenos arpild, amoul hapre venit.
life LOC heaven PRS like life terrene but-only much_more good
Life in Heaven is like terrene life, only much better.
♂♥♂♀

Squirrels chase koi . . . chase squirrels

My Kankonian-English dictionary: 86,336 words and counting

31,416: The number of the conlanging beast!
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Re: Grammuary 2018

Post by Iyionaku »

Ah well, I already didn't manage to finish lexember (nor have I entered the words into my vocabulary), but I think this will propably be more interesting? I will give a new rule for one of my four main conlangs (without Yélian) every day, plus an additional grammar gem for Yélian until I'm up to date.

Grammuary 9th

The Caelian Anteportive case ("going in front of") had very limited use until present day, in fact I think I have never used it whatsoever. It gains some new meanings when used with verbs like *c-dr-Ø (to come), *w-mty-d (to arrive, to begin), *t-fpy-l (to work) etc. It gains a temporal/competitive meaning, like "being in advance", "having a headstart" etc.

Rar Tetul kyatufupil, pyar Sang Dyong roruoternid.
1SG.NOM 3PL.ANIM.ANTP INCH-work.1SG>3PL, therefore 1PLIN.NOM DEM.MASC.ACC FUT-win.1PLIN
I worked in advance of them and gained a headstart, therefore we will win this.

Grammuary 1st

The conjunction ariybetál is rarely used in written language, and never in spoken language. It has a sense of "at least after that"

A'naku yeilicet u'punuzadesce, ariybetál æ'cradfadakal yibet nayralovres.
DEF.ANIM=fire PST-destroy-3SG DEF.INAN=inner_city-entire, at_least_after_that DEF.CONC=construction_industry PST-experience-3SG rise-gigantic
The fire destroyed the entire inner city, but at least afterwards the construction industry experienced a big boom.
Last edited by Iyionaku on 09 Jan 2018 09:00, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Grammuary 2018

Post by Khemehekis »

Glad to have you joining us, Iyionaku! I love the name "anteportive"!
♂♥♂♀

Squirrels chase koi . . . chase squirrels

My Kankonian-English dictionary: 86,336 words and counting

31,416: The number of the conlanging beast!
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Re: Grammuary 2018

Post by gestaltist »

Nakarian 9

Numerals shall be bound morphemes prefixed before classifiers.
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Re: Grammuary 2018

Post by Khemehekis »

January 9

When the adjectives/adverbs "argas" (much), "re argas" (more), "tu" (not much), "re tu" (less) and "anti" (how much) are applied to a noun to show how much something or someone fits the criteria of that noun, "zash" is used between the adjective/adverb and nominal:

Ham os hazias az ar as ded re tu zash wiri.
that NEG make-PRS that 2s PRS any COMP little APPOS man
That doesn't make you any less of a man.

Mahan wan as argas zash vushem-pheramis?
Q 3s PRS much APPOS brain-calculator
Is she much of a walking calculator?

Is as tu zash hoyatzol. Is as re argas zash somonosakhis.
1s PRS little APPOS chemist. 1s PRS COMP much APPOS linguist
I'm not much of a chemist. I'm more of a linguist.

Wan as anti zash borathar?
3s PRS how_much APPOS scholar
How much of a scholar is he?

"To tu zash" is used for "how little of a(n)":

Vrefri as to tu zash payofash?
Vrefri PRS how little APPOS thinker
How little of a thinker is Vrefri?

January 10

"Houmanti zash" is used for "how much of", and "houmantu zash" for "how little of", when they are applied to a noun to show how much something or someone fits the criteria of that noun:

Is steanas houmanti zash heki*egmatfash Yeshiki as.
1s wonder-PRS QR-how_much APPOS dreamer Yeshiki PRS
I wonder how much of a dreamer Yeshiki is.

Ham stumas ash houmantu zash parosis Pablo as.
that depend-PRS on QR-little APPOS magician Pablo PRS
It depends on how little of a magician Pablo is.

Ar kardass az is as houmanti zash istetemis?
2s think-PRS that 1s PRS QR-how_much APPOS lapdog
How much of a lapdog do you think I am?

In the comparative construction "how much more of" and the contrastive construction "how much less of", the comparative -re- is jambed in between the houm- and the -anti or -antu:

Is os wezias daz is hauess houmreanti zash doklamb is ien e yakh bayis e oel Benetar na is.
1s NEG cry-PRS because 1s know-PRS QR-COMP-how_much APPOS slow_learner 1s would BE if world BE without Benetar of 1s
I don't cry because I know how much more of a slow learner I'd be if it weren't for my Benetar.

Is steanas houmreantu zash kutatamfash is ien e yakh poergoi na is e Gemas.
1s wonder-PRS QR-COMP-little APPOS procrastinator 1s would BE if sign of 1s BE Gemas
I wonder how much less of a procrastinator I'd be if my astrological sign were Gemas.

January 11

The words "houmreanti" and "houmreantu", with the comparative -re- jambed in between houm- and -anti or -antu, mean "how much more" and "how much less", respectively:

Methermas sezeten houmreanti almonas klotzab as de finis.
ethologist-PL study-PST QR-COMP-how_much intelligent parrot PRS than mouse
The ethologists studied how much more intelligent a parrot was than a mouse.

Is wahazas zhelis houmreantu desaivwan emenos ien e oel zimas.
1s be_able_to-PRS imagine QR-COMP-little meaningful life would BE without surprise-PL
I can imagine how much less meaningful life would be without surprises.

"Houmreanti" can be also used as an adjective instead of an adverb, without requiring an "argas" after it:

Is steanas houmreanti hen wiri gai*etas de mopiga er zash huzhus.
1s wonder-PRS QR-COMP-how_much money man make-PRS than woman LOC that planet
I wonder how much more money a man makes than a woman on that planet.

January 12

reanti - how much more, how many more
retotu - how much less, how many fewer

"Reanti" and "retotu" are the comparative forms of "anti" (or "to") and "to tu", respectively. They come before the adjective they modify as adverbs, and before the nominal they modify as adjectives:

Ham hazias ad reanti deyen Katana?
that make-PRS to COMP-how_much special Katana
How much more special does that make Katana?

Pshouwopt as retotu azitz de grurghkeinuz?
stomach_pumping PRS COMP-how-little painful than root_canal
How much less painful is a stomach pumping than a root canal?

Tom anas reanti zanzas de Mark?
Tom have-PRS COMP-how_many tooth-PL than Mark
How many more teeth does Tom have than Mark?

Reanti shalut de menfan aas e ham haihas?
COMP-how_much sugar than flour exist-PRS in this cake
How much more sugar than flour is there in this cake?

Ar kuless an reanti srir?
2s need-PRS have COMP-how_much rope
How much more rope do you need?

Retotu ambas de harges as er amaren sa*alk?
COMP-how-few camel-PL than goat-PL PRS LOC zoo domesticated
How many fewer camels than goats are at the petting zoo?

"Reanti" is plural when it means how many more and singular when it means how much more. "Retotu" is plural when it means how many fewer and singular when it means how much less.
Last edited by Khemehekis on 11 Jan 2018 02:13, edited 1 time in total.
♂♥♂♀

Squirrels chase koi . . . chase squirrels

My Kankonian-English dictionary: 86,336 words and counting

31,416: The number of the conlanging beast!
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Re: Grammuary 2018

Post by gestaltist »

Nakarian 10

Compound nouns based on a core class noun don’t need a class prefix. E.g., compounds with -ran (“man”) don’t need the class 1 prefix mo-. This makes the system mixed since compounds will ultimately have a class suffix instead of the usual class prefix. However, the agreement marker on the verb will still correspond to the class prefix (so -mo for class 1).

However, the class prefix can be still tacked onto a prefixless word for pragmatic reasons: it is used in a similar way to the definite article in such instances.
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Re: Grammuary 2018

Post by Iyionaku »

gestaltist wrote: 10 Jan 2018 11:09 Nakarian 10

Compound nouns based on a core class noun don’t need a class prefix. E.g., compounds with -ran (“man”) don’t need the class 1 prefix mo-. This makes the system mixed since compounds will ultimately have a class suffix instead of the usual class prefix. However, the agreement marker on the verb will still correspond to the class prefix (so -mo for class 1).

However, the class prefix can be still tacked onto a prefixless word for pragmatic reasons: it is used in a similar way to the definite article in such instances.
I somehow feel that in the end you'll end up with a special class where the verb lacks an agreement marker too, but maybe that's just me.

Grammuary 10th - Bath'aso

New sentence pattern for Orkish:

shext A heks B (Resultative + Ingressive)

This sentence pattern is one of the most common ones, although I haven't created it until now. It can have various meanings:

1. Finishing action A enables start of action B
2. Finishing action A is needed to be able to start action B
3. In order to create the topic stated in advance, you have to do A first, then B
4. If A is done, so will B

Gerk tozokz grtemptrelzhekt, shext phinkekz ptrelm zhektis lajkis heks ruzhokz ptruzht grtemkti.
for make=2SG.ERG egg_cake, TERM merge=2SG.ERG flour sugar-ADD milk-ADD INGR add=2SG.ERG two egg-PL
In order to make the egg cake, first you have to merge flour, milk and sugar before you can add two eggs.
[This structure can only be used if it is crucial for the process that A occurs before B; however my vocabulary is too small for better examples]

Grammuary 2nd - Yélian

There are a few (around 10-15) inanimate nouns with a stressed è [ɛ] (mainly nature terms) that lack a morphological plural; instead, the morphological dual has taken over the functions of the plural. That means those nouns use the dual ending -m/-em instead of the plural ending -n/-an to mark the plural, while dual is extinct for those nouns; That's what distinguishes them from geminate nouns that have both dual and plural.

Examples:

èser (rock) -> Plural èserem (not *èsan)
cèlin (fern) -> Plural cèlinem (not *cèlian)
bèket (fjord) -> Plural bèketem (not *bèketan)
tèske (cliff) -> Plural tèskem (not *tèskan)
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Re: Grammuary 2018

Post by gestaltist »

Nakarian 11
Iyionaku wrote: 10 Jan 2018 11:23
gestaltist wrote: 10 Jan 2018 11:09 Nakarian 10

Compound nouns based on a core class noun don’t need a class prefix. E.g., compounds with -ran (“man”) don’t need the class 1 prefix mo-. This makes the system mixed since compounds will ultimately have a class suffix instead of the usual class prefix. However, the agreement marker on the verb will still correspond to the class prefix (so -mo for class 1).

However, the class prefix can be still tacked onto a prefixless word for pragmatic reasons: it is used in a similar way to the definite article in such instances.
I somehow feel that in the end you'll end up with a special class where the verb lacks an agreement marker too, but maybe that's just me.
I thought about it and decided you're right, which will be my entry for today. There will be "classless" words which don't take an agreement marker. They are a closed class of words, primarily used in intransitive contexts or where the lack of agreement isn't likely to cause confusion. The prime example would be weather words such as "rain". Some borrowings can also get added to this category if there is difficulty in assigning a class to them.
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Re: Grammuary 2018

Post by Iyionaku »

Grammuary 11th - Yelian

Implemented a plural demonstrative pronoun van.

Vat îyi - this/that child
Van îyin - these/those children

Grammuary 12th - Yélian

A statement of the type "one kind of X" requires the noun to be in plural.

[cross] Vat ùlek o'tervil - that kind of person
[tick] Vat ùlek o'tervilan - that kind of persons

Grammuary 13th - Yélian

The adjective classifiers fairat (good), pirit (bad) and zolom (evil) have irregular plurals:

A'broyafairat - the good man --> A'brayefaian - the good men (regular would be *fairatan)
An'áiapirit - the bad woman --> An'áiapirian - the bad women (regular would be *piritan)
A'macmizolom - the evil horse --> A'macmizolan - the evil horses (regular would be *zoloman)
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Re: Grammuary 2018

Post by gestaltist »

Grammuary 12 - Nakarian

Remember that Nakarian uses light verb + content verb in the participle almost exclusively for its verbal constructions.

Intransitives in Nakarian will generally use the following light verbs: be, feel, look, do. Each content verb has a preferred light verb to use, but at least some of the others can typically be used for pragmatic reasons. The general breakdown is as follows:

to be - used for habitual, gnomic, and similar meanings. It is the default for intrinsic qualities ("It is huge" = "it huge-PTCP is"). It can also be used directly with a noun when talking about professions ("I am a doctor") or affiliation ("I am Nakarian").
to feel - expresses episodic mood and an internal locus. The default for feelings, bodily sensations, etc. ("I am sad" = "I sad-PTCP feel"; cf. "I das-PTCP am" meaning "I am a sad person, I'm always sad").
to look - expresses external locus. Typically used when talking about hearsay, external appearance, etc. ("You are pretty" = "You pretty-PTCP look"). It can have an undertone of uncertainty ("He sleep-PTCP looks" = "(I think) he is sleeping").
to do - used with action verbs, put focus on the action. The default for verbs of motion. ("I am walking" = "I walk-PTCP do").

Let's use the stative verb "to be pretty" to show how all four can be used for pragmatic reasons:

"You pretty-PTCP look" = "You look/appear pretty" - the default combination.
"You pretty-PTCP feel" = "You look pretty because of your internal qualities" - could be told to someone who looks pretty due to their happy mood, for example.
"You pretty-PTCP are" = "You are a pretty person, You're always pretty" - expresses a conviction that beauty is a part of your identity
"You pretty-PTCP do" = probably not idiomatic but could be used to emphasize that you made yourself look pretty (e.g., through makeup).
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Re: Grammuary 2018

Post by gestaltist »

Grammuary 13 - Nakarian

Transitive verbs usually have one light verb they go with (e.g., "to go" with verbs of movement). They can be detransitivized, in which case they take one of the intransitive light verbs.
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