Justin B Rye 1995-2001
glossary sounds numbers nouns adjuncts pronouns verbs phrases syntax coinages examples lexicon

SECTION I: GLOSSARY

Ia - Table Of Contents

(In addition to the guide sections listed in the table below and in the navigation bar at the head of each section, this directory also contains an introductory preamble page which you shouldn't need to go back to.)

Ib - Notation

On these pages, following my usual scheme, I use square brackets [like this] to mark out phonetic guides in ASCII IPA, and angle-brackets <like this> for samples of the language itself in the standard spelling.

"The standard spelling" in this case means a transcription in the Roman alphabet.  For the further convenience of learners, raised dots are inserted to help keep prefixes and suffixes visually distinct, as in <man·ulasu·ap> "I don't know".  Remember, though: dividing the words up like this is a feature of this guide, not part of the "real-life" writing system that would be used in a translated text.

The language doesn't have an alphabet of its own - I produced a fantasy writing system to go with it, but since it was only "suggested" rather than a definite part of the package, and since in retrospect the particular letter-forms I used weren't terribly exciting, I'll leave it out here.  Suffice it to say that it was a Devanagari-style syllable-based script (an "abugida"), where squiggle-with-accent means <ki>, squiggle-without-accent means <ka>, and squiggle-with-dot means a <k> with no following vowel.

Ic - Terminology

For those of you with a hazy understanding of all this stuff about prenounial verbundives, here's a very basic quick-reference guide, incorporating a key to the abbreviations used in section XII, the lexicon.

A

the marker used in the lexicon to label Adjectives (see Va)

ADJECTIVE

"describing words" like "quick", "red", or "broken"

ADJUNCT

a cover-term for adjectives and adverbs (the "Adjuncts" section also covers postpositions and possessives)

ADVERB

"modifying words" like "quickly", "soon" or "hardly"

ASPECT

a feature of verbs - obscure, but vaguely like tense (see VIIc)

C

the marker used in the lexicon to label Coordinating conjunctions (see IXb) or interjections

CASE

"roles" in a sentence - the difference between "he" and "him" (see IVb)

CONJUNCTION

a "joining word" like "and", "but", "if" or "because"

CONSONANT

a "hard sound" like "K", "N", "TH" (compare "vowel", below)

COORDINATING

simply tacking phrases together - "and he ran and he ran"; compare Subordinating

D

the marker used in the lexicon to label Demonstrative words (see VIb)

DEMONSTRATIVE

"pointing words" like "this", "those"

DIPHTHONG

a combination of vowel sounds strung together in one syllable

E

the marker used in the lexicon to label Epicene nouns/pronouns (see IVa)

EPICENE

a particular gender category in this language

FIRST-EXCLUSIVE

a particular person category in this language

FIRST-INCLUSIVE

a particular person category in this language

GENDER

the difference betwen "he" and "it" (see IVa)

I

the marker used in the lexicon to label Intransitive verbs (see VIIIb)

IMPERFECTIVE

a particular aspect category in this language

INFINITIVE

equivalent of English "to" verbs - "to be", "to see"

INTRANSITIVE

verbs with no object, like "die", "wait" etc

L

the marker used in the lexicon to label Linking verbs (see VIIIc)

LINKING

verbs that can introduce descriptions, like "be", "seem" etc

M

the marker used in the lexicon to label Modifiers (see Vb)

MODIFIER

a catch-all term for adverbs and miscellaneous words like "too", "not"

N

the marker used in the lexicon to label Neuter nouns (see IVa)

NEUTER

a particular gender category in this language

NOUN

"naming words" like "king", "horses", "hunger"

NUMBER

the difference between singular and plural (see IIIa)

OBJECT

a (noun in a) particular case category in this language

OBLIQUE

a (noun in a) particular case category in this language

P

the marker used in the lexicon to label Postpositions (see Vc)

PASSIVE

the "be done by" form of a verb - see reflexive

PERFECTIVE

a particular aspect category in this language

PERSON

the difference between "we", "you" and "they" (see IIIb)

PLURAL

a special form for more-than-one in English grammar

POSSESSIVE

phrases like "the man's hat" or "the hat of the man"

POSTPOSITION

this language's backwards alternative to prepositions

PREFIX

something stuck on the front - e.g. "un-" (or "pre-")

PREPOSITION

words like "before" ("before a noun"), normally expressing location or direction

PRONOUN

"we", "it" etc, stand-ins for specific nouns or names

R

the marker used in the lexicon to label Reflexivising verbs (see VIIId)

REFLEXIVE

verbs of "doing it to oneself" (or "to each other")

REFLEXIVISING

verbs in this language that have a transitive form and a reflexive form

RELATIVE

a rather tricky clause type (which this is an example of)

S

the marker used in the lexicon to label Subordinating conjunctions (see IXb)

SECOND-FAMILIAR

a particular person category in this language

SECOND-POLITE

a particular person category in this language

SENTENCE

a complete utterance, from capital letter to full stop

SUBJECT

a (noun in a) particular case category in this language

SUBJUNCTIVE

a verb-form with emotive or hypothetical overtones

SUBORDINATING

nesting phrases inside others - "someone [who knows [what it is]]"; compare Coordinating

SUFFIX

a stuck-on ending (opposite of "prefix")

SYLLABLE

a breath-unit ("syll-a-ble"), most obvious in singing where each syllable is a beat

T

the marker used in the lexicon to label Transitive verbs (see VIIIb)

TENSE

in English grammar, marking on a verb for whether it happens in the past, present or future

THIRD-EPICENE

a particular person category in this language

THIRD-NEUTER

a particular person category in this language

TRANSITIVE

verbs requiring an object, like "slay", "await" etc

VERB

"doing words" like "be", "sang", "eats"

VOWEL

a non-consonant sound, like "AH", "EE", "U"

SECTION II: Sounds