Commonthroat: a language that only a dog could probably pronounce

[lurker]

I now have the words necesary to write this project's title in Commonthroat.

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scrPLMr rdrdB
scr-PL-Mr            rdr-dB
star-COLLECTIVE-3.PROX one-TENDING_TO
The Lonely Galaxy

It could also be translated as the sentence This galaxy is lonely. Not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing for semantic ambiguity.

[Visions1]

I think it's be good to find a way to make a distinction. But honestly I don't know.

[lurker]

I think it's be good to find a way to make a distinction. But honestly I don't know.

I think I'll have predicate adjectives have a unique nonzero authoritative form, or perhaps I'll make the authoritative form nonzero for all verbs...

[conlang-creature]

Ambiguity can be fun in my opinion. I don't see that much confusion it could cause here, and it seems interesting to me. Obviously it's up to you though.

[lurker]

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[breathe in] L sLMr qL rCFsfbcdrMr [breathe out] rhJsfbb rLPqp HrjGJ
L   sL-Mr       qL rCFsfbcdr-Mr  rhJsfb-b      rLPq-p       HrjGJ
may soul-3.PROX my mirror-3.PROX reflect-NAUTH light-3.DIST uncreated
May my soul be a mirror reflecting the uncreated light

Here's the cleric's torpor meditation rendered into Commonthroat. I think I'll have the nonauthoritative form of the verb have a non zero morpheme, and use the bare verb stem as a participle or gerund. This gloss does not reflect this change, so I'll have to redo it at some point.

[Imralu]

Tqoqo oil Joe'

It could also be translated as the sentence This galaxy is lonely. Not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing for semantic ambiguity.

I think it's absolutely fine for a title, but I'm most interested in whether this is a universal ambiguity across the language, something syntactic that will happen in titles (when it's unclear if it's a sentence fragment or a whole sentence), or just a coincidence in this phrase alone. E.g. is there a difference between "the red car" and "the car is red"? I find a bit of ambiguity between these things quite interesting. In my language, Balog, to say "the red car goes fast", you could say that in one clause (go.fast DEF.R5=car EQ=red), but that is typical of more precise, formal language, and casually, it would often be two clauses more like "the car goes fast, it is red" (go.fast DEF.R5=car, red DEF.R5). Alternatively, even "the red thing goes fast, it is a car" is possible, depending on pragmatics. "The Lonely Galaxy", translated as as a noun phrase, would be Uddžwerog webbanam (DEF.R1=galaxy EQ=lonely), but the clausal translation Banam Uddžwerog "The Universe is Lonely" would probably be a more elegant title in Balog as the former sounds unfinished and would need a predicate for it to sound complete.

[lurker]

Tqoqo oil Joe'

It could also be translated as the sentence This galaxy is lonely. Not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing for semantic ambiguity.

I think it's absolutely fine for a title, but I'm most interested in whether this is a universal ambiguity across the language, something syntactic that will happen in titles (when it's unclear if it's a sentence fragment or a whole sentence), or just a coincidence in this phrase alone. E.g. is there a difference between "the red car" and "the car is red"? I find a bit of ambiguity between these things quite interesting. In my language, Balog, to say "the red car goes fast", you could say that in one clause (go.fast DEF.R5=car EQ=red), but that is typical of more precise, formal language, and casually, it would often be two clauses more like "the car goes fast, it is red" (go.fast DEF.R5=car, red DEF.R5). Alternatively, even "the red thing goes fast, it is a car" is possible, depending on pragmatics. "The Lonely Galaxy", translated as as a noun phrase, would be Uddžwerog webbanam (DEF.R1=galaxy EQ=lonely), but the clausal translation Banam Uddžwerog "The Universe is Lonely" would probably be a more elegant title in Balog as the former sounds unfinished and would need a predicate for it to sound complete.

The way predicate adjectives work right now, they inflect like verbs, and the default form of the verb, the authoritative mood, has a zero morpheme. Regular adjectives that modify a noun are uninflected, and the come after the noun, and overall word order is SVO, so there's the ambiguity. The ambiguity is resolved if the verbal adjective is in another mood.

this is obscured in glosses because I mark the authoritative mood (AUTH) on verbs even though it doesn't have a phonetic realization.

sun-3.DIST bright-AUTH = The/that sun is bright

sun-3.DIST bright = the/that bright sun

Both phrases appear identical in Commonthroat

<qMNrp qCb> [huff, long rising weakening grunt, chuff, short high strong grunt / huff, late low weakening whine]

[lurker]

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G fb rp kHr
G    0      fb-0        rp-0       kHr-0
must [you]  stop-AUTH   RFLX-AUTH  hit-AUTH
Stop hitting yourself!

Just like human siblings, yinrih litter mates can be mean to one another. Except in this case the bully uses the victim's tail as the bludgeon rather than one of their forelegs, which is why the phrase uses the verb <kHr>, which means to strike with the tail.

This phrase also uses a reflexive coverb <rp>. The serial verb construction <rp kHr> means strike oneself with the tail.

---

Did you know if you google "Stop hitting yourself" it brings up a link with resources about self harm? I guess that's nice but it's also kinda funny for some reason.

[lurker]

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Ln sNLsdqb qgKqg Ln sG qgKqdqg rGKqsfbb
Ln   sNLsdq-b     qgKq-g      Ln   sG qgKqdq-g          rGKqsfb-b
HORT reject-NAUTH yinrih-3IND HORT to tree-dweller-3IND return-NAUTH
Reject yinrih. Return to tree-dweller

The hortative mood uses the nonauthoritative form of the verb and the modal <Ln> [late rising weak grunt]. In some dialects it's interchangeable with the polite imperative (where you use the imperative modal <G> along with the nonauthoritative mood), but canonically it's distinct. The closest English translation would be "Let's...", but it can also mean the listener would gain some benefit from performing the action.

This little slogan probably isn't a thing in-universe, as it's a play on the meme "reject humanity, return to monke." It does, however, reflect the attitude of the Atavists--a group of yinrih who want to rid themselves of sapience and return to being irrational animals.

[lurker]

Here are some random Commonthroat words for things found on Earth.

qMqmqbcg: Chimpanzee, great ape. From <qMqm> human + <qbc> false, literally pseudohuman or mockman. Wiktionary says the word chimpanzee comes from a Bantu language (sources differ on which one) and literally means pseudohuman, making the Commonthroat word a calque.

rnqCDqg: human hand. From <rnq> (paw) + <CDq> (to hold), literally paw used for holding.

rnqrfbrg: human foot. From <rnq> (paw) + <rfbr> (to walk), literally paw used for walking.

MNrsjgqg: human hair. From <MNr> (fur) + <sjgq> (head).

qgKqqbcg: dog, canid. From <qgKq> (yinrih) + <qbc> (false), literally pseudoyinrih.

qhqsLg: a priest (chiefly Christian). From <qhq> (sire) + <sL> (body heat, soul, spirit), literally soul sire.

GJrMqmg: The pope. From GJ (to work, to make) + <rMq (bridge) + <-m> (customary suffix), a calque of Latin pontifex.

[lurker]

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G sG h scrp jkqn sMlr sMlr sD spM rLPqp qN j jkqn jkqn rgjqCbK
G    sG h  scr-p   jk-qn    sMlr sMlr   sD-0    spM-0       rLPq-p   qN
must to PL star-3D little-2 dear dear   go-AUTH spread-AUTH light-3D your

j    jk-qn     jk-qn    rgj-qCb-K
and  little-2  little-2 grow-bright-DOG
Go, dearest little ones, spread your light to the stars, and ye shall become brighter yourselves.

Boy I feel like it's been a while since I've done anything with Commonthroat. Here's the last line of the Great Commandment. Eventually I'll translate the whole thing.

The principle grammatical innovation here is that you can emphasize nouns or adjectives by reduplicating them (inflections included). So <sMlr> (dear) becomes <sMlr sMlr> (dearest, very dear), and <jkqn> (ye little ones) becomes <jkqn jkqn> (ye yourselves).

This also demonstrates using the dogmatic mood to indicate a promise. <rgjqCbK> can be translated as "I promise you shall become brighter".

[lurker]

sCbsNLrg

/yip late low weakening whine, yip, long falling weak grunt, chuff, short low weak growl/

from sCb (vehicle, craft) + sNLr (limb, leg) "limbed vehicle"

Noun
Mech, giant robot

Yinrih have mechs, which work much better for them given their four legged body plan. Many yinrih mechs replicate the yinrih's nimble climbing abilities, having grasping paws and a prehensile tail.

[Visions1]

You know what might make for a good translation project? Translating the posts on the conwordling thread.
(Probably not all of them, but still.)

[lurker]

sfcsng

/yip, short falling strong whine, yip, short high weak grunt, short low weak growl/

Etymology
sfc (pup) + sn (skin)

Noun

(humorous) a human infant

Edit: I just realized this makes no sense because yinrih already use <sfcg> for human children anyway. Juvenile yinrih are only called "pups" in English. This was supposed to be a pun on fur baby . Oh well.

[lurker]

NLrcdrg

/long falling weak grunt, chuff, short rising weakening whine, chuff, short low weak growl/

Etymology

NLr (to lick) + -cdr (suffix indicating a small tool)

Noun
1. A pacifier-like object given to fussy kits to lick in place of their dam's paws. The kit grips the handle and licks the textured surface of the object.
2. (medicine) a placebo

[Arayaz]

1. A pacifier-like object given to fussy kits to lick in place of their dam's paws. The kit grips the handle and licks the textured surface of the object.
2. (medicine) a placebo

Wish I could think of stuff like this.

[lurker]

cBqfdrHGg

/early low weakening whine, huff, short high weakening whine, chuff, long low weakening growl, short low weak growl/

Etymology

cB (outside) + qfdr (to stand) + -HG (an act of or event of the verb)

Noun

1. Ecstasy, religious experience, vision
2. (of human sleep) a dream
3. (drug culture) A sensory experience induced artificially, either via neurogel suspension or via mind candy, a drug trip.

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Wish I could think of stuff like this.

Thanks! I wish I could focus on this $300 exam that I'm attempting for the 3rd time, but my brain would rather come up with with new Commonthroat words it seems.

[lurker]

You know what might make for a good translation project? Translating the posts on the conwordling thread.
(Probably not all of them, but still.)

oof da that would be an undertaking. I've thought of translating some of the Commonthroat dialog in the stories.

[lurker]

There are two ways of asking "why" questions in Commonthroat. The first uses the phrase <bc rFbBD> and the other uses the phrase <bc sFBBD>. <bc rFbBD?> literally means "by what cause", while <bc sFBBD> means "for what purpose?"

These two phrases may be interchangeable in casual conversation, but the philosophically-minded (not to mention grammar Partisans) draw a sharp distinction between the two. <bc sFBBD> implies that the event was caused by an act of will, while <bc rFbBD?> expects a more natural cause and effect answer. There can be two different answers to the following question depending on the phrase used:

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bc rFb-BD       scBq-qN  sPM-0
by cause-INT    water-3M boil-AUTH

bc sFB-BD      scBq-qN  sPM-0
by motive-INT  water-3M boil-AUTH

Both of these sentences are typically translated as "Why is that water boiling?"

The "proper" answer to the first sentence should be a scientific explanation. "This water is boiling because enough energy has been added to it to reach its heat of vaporization."

But the second question would be answered with something like "Because I want some tea."

The Bright Way especially highlights these two ways of looking at the world. On a small scale, one can begin with an act of a person's free will (wanting some tea) that leads to the effect of the water heating up, which in turn leads to the water boiling. On a high level, one can trace a chain of natural cause and effect (such as the yinrih's evolution) that ultimately begins with the act of The Light willing the universe into existence.

[lurker]

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DC g kjgMr 
DC    g    kjq-Mr
under POS  palm-3.PROX

To have something "under one's palm" means to have the situation under control. When said of people, it means to have someone wrapped around one's thumb.

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sfq-p      b    ____ DC    g     kjq-Mr
earth-3D   of  _____ under POS   palm-3P
The soil of ____ is under my palms.

Similarly, a common way to say that you've visited a place is to say "I've had the soil of ____ under my palms", for example "I've had the soil of Hearthside under my palms" means that you've visited Hearthside. This usually implies having been there for a long while or that you go there very frequently, but doesn't necessarily mean you were hatched there or that you live there. It can even be said of places where there's no literal soil, like orbital colonies.

"To have dirt on your paws" means that you're not a spacer, or that you aren't used to living in microgravity yet.

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INT vomit-NAUTH vomit-NAUTH   yet dirt-3I upon POS paw-3M
mp  sFb-b        sFb-b        GJq  sfq-g   bc  g   rnq-qN
You keep vomiting? There's still some dirt on your paws.