Naduta language and script
Re: Naduta language and script
Thanks. I forgot to mention how to use -wa with negatives. It is much as you would expect:
Yeta wis-yubura (yuburuwa) hesguburu.
water-ANIM.SBJ clear=be-NEG-ADV swim-1.SG-NEG
The water is not clear, so I will not swim. (The water not being clear, I do not swim).
note that there is no specific future tense, so the present is simply non-past.
Yeta wis-yubura (yuburuwa) hesguburu.
water-ANIM.SBJ clear=be-NEG-ADV swim-1.SG-NEG
The water is not clear, so I will not swim. (The water not being clear, I do not swim).
note that there is no specific future tense, so the present is simply non-past.
Last edited by clawgrip on Sat Nov 16, 2013 11:40 am, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Naduta language and script
I haven't really thought about doing anything beyond this.masako wrote:Will there be a website for us to peruse, or is this the only intended place for sharing this magic?
Also there will eventually be a syllabary, but so far it is incomplete because I haven't yet made enough characters to complete it. You can see it being used in many of the characters I've shown for grammatical endings and phonetic complements of ideograms and pictograms. For example, the grammatical ending -wa we've just looked at is written with WA, which we already saw in the first post is actually the character for "horn". Also the character for "fish", GU, is as you noticed used to write the 1st person ending -gu.
Re: Naduta language and script
Past tense
Just a short update here.
While the language is primarily head-final, the past tense appears as a prefix on the verb. Maybe it was some sort of adverb that got grammaticalized. Anyway, the past tense prefix is tah-.
Us'he tah-sisgu.
3-KN.OBJ PST=hear-1.SG
I heard it.
Usrih tah-rinmu.
3-PL-UKN.OBJ PST=change-3.SG
He changed them.
When applied to the copula, it is usually pronounced ta- or tu- rather than tah-.
Pasinta kisinta trun-tuyumu.
this-UKN.NOM knife-UKN.NOM big=PST-be-3.SG
That knife was big.
Tah- cannot be used on the adverbials formed with -wa. This is because the adverbials are considered non-finite forms and thus cannot take tense marking.
Just a short update here.
While the language is primarily head-final, the past tense appears as a prefix on the verb. Maybe it was some sort of adverb that got grammaticalized. Anyway, the past tense prefix is tah-.
Us'he tah-sisgu.
3-KN.OBJ PST=hear-1.SG
I heard it.
Usrih tah-rinmu.
3-PL-UKN.OBJ PST=change-3.SG
He changed them.
When applied to the copula, it is usually pronounced ta- or tu- rather than tah-.
Pasinta kisinta trun-tuyumu.
this-UKN.NOM knife-UKN.NOM big=PST-be-3.SG
That knife was big.
Tah- cannot be used on the adverbials formed with -wa. This is because the adverbials are considered non-finite forms and thus cannot take tense marking.
Re: Naduta language and script
Postpositions
At this point I've only got three postpositions:
dative/locative: tu
ablative: gi
genitive: ya-
The first two (and probably most of them) often appear with a vertical stroke:
The genitive ya- declines in the same gender, number, and person as the possessed. The suffixes -ta, -n, and -nta are written above the glyph.
yata, yan, yanta
The possessor declines in the same case as the genitive and possessed:
The possessor is always declined as nominative (this has been changed, so some of these examples are now out of date):
Usta yan awan Nakiy yumu.
3-SG.ANIM.NOM gen-SG.KN.NOM name-SG.KN.NOM Naki-SG.ANIM.OBJ be-3.SG
His name is Naki.
Uyendurhe gi tah-ehra-san?
Uyendur-SG.KN.OBJ from PST=come-2.SG=Q
Do you come from Uyendur?
Usrey tu usey yaih ikhuih tah-sasurgu.
3-PL-ANIM.NOM to 3-SG.ANIM.OBJ GEN-SG.UKN.OBJ tree.bark-SG.UKN.OBJ PST=give-PL-3.
We gave them her tree bark. (work with me here...this language still has a very limited vocabulary)
At this point I've only got three postpositions:
dative/locative: tu
ablative: gi
genitive: ya-
The first two (and probably most of them) often appear with a vertical stroke:
The genitive ya- declines in the same gender, number, and person as the possessed. The suffixes -ta, -n, and -nta are written above the glyph.
yata, yan, yanta
The possessor is always declined as nominative (this has been changed, so some of these examples are now out of date):
Usta yan awan Nakiy yumu.
3-SG.ANIM.NOM gen-SG.KN.NOM name-SG.KN.NOM Naki-SG.ANIM.OBJ be-3.SG
His name is Naki.
Uyendurhe gi tah-ehra-san?
Uyendur-SG.KN.OBJ from PST=come-2.SG=Q
Do you come from Uyendur?
Usrey tu usey yaih ikhuih tah-sasurgu.
3-PL-ANIM.NOM to 3-SG.ANIM.OBJ GEN-SG.UKN.OBJ tree.bark-SG.UKN.OBJ PST=give-PL-3.
We gave them her tree bark. (work with me here...this language still has a very limited vocabulary)
Last edited by clawgrip on Wed Jan 22, 2014 11:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Naduta language and script
Do you have any back story for the extra vertical stroke in the dative and ablative glyphs?
In fact it would be very interesting to read some more general in world background material of the history of the script, if you have enough stuff to share.
In fact it would be very interesting to read some more general in world background material of the history of the script, if you have enough stuff to share.
Re: Naduta language and script
The vertical stroke was originally used to indicate explicitly that these single-glyph words are being used phonetically based on the rebus principle (normally in the script, rebus writing is supported by semantic complements). However, it took on a semantic meaning and appears in other grammatical words as well, such as two-glyph conjunctions or conjunctions, even when there is no ambiguity. For example, The word MAN "but; however" employs a vertical stroke, even though the glyph ma is only ever used phonetically, as it is a simplification of the glyph MAS "door".gach wrote:Do you have any back story for the extra vertical stroke in the dative and ablative glyphs?
I have only worked out some of the historical situation of these people. The main idea is that there is a trade route running along a habitable coastline, but this is a fairly narrow strip that runs between the ocean and the mostly uninhabitable desert interior. This Naduta culture developed as a central trade hub and the writing is based on the needs of such a people (in other words, I took the same kind of accounting and trade angle that is supposed to be the origin of cuneiform writing).In fact it would be very interesting to read some more general in world background material of the history of the script, if you have enough stuff to share.
I imagine that the use of the script expanded along that coastal region due to the influence of this settlement. Eventually, a different settlement further north along the coast will take over as the most prominent trade centre in that area (haven't decided how or why yet). Their language will be unrelated to this one, but will still employ the script. The descendant of this language (Nandut) will also still be spoken in its original location. That later state is the "present" of this conworld.
There are too many language isolates in this world, I think. Maybe I will try to find a way to relate this second language to some other preexisting family. I don't know.
Re: Naduta language and script
Passive voice
Grammatical Outline
Naduta indicates passive voice through reduplication of the root.
ku- "see"
kuku- "be seen"
Reduplicated aspirated consonants typically lose their aspiration on the first instance of that consonant:
phah- "write"
paphah- "be written"
(the final -h has also been lost)
For two-syllable roots, it is typically the first syllable only that is reduplicated:
anu- "speak"
ananu- "be spoken"
In compound verbs, only the first root is reduplicated:
ehnhi- "come out"
ehehnhi- "be drawn out"
(eh- "come", nhi- "go/come out")
(Notice also that the passive on intransitive verbs creates a kind of causative passive)
Within words, the sequence /ɾɾ/ always becomes /tɾ/, including in the formation of the passive root:
rur- "dig"
rutrur- "be dug"
Orthography
This reduplication is also represented orthographically. Sometimes the entire glyph is reduplicated:
anu-
"speak"
ananu-
"be spoken"
However, phonetic complements are not reduplicated:
hi-
"do"
ir-
"drink"
hihi-
"be done"
irir-
"be drunk" (said of a drink)
Words employing more than one semantic glyph may reduplicate the entire glyph or simply the first glyph. Often, more than one option is available:
ku-
"see"
kuku- ,
"be seen"
Sometimes both glyphs are reduplicated, but still occur in the same order:
phah-
"write"
paphah- , ,
"be written"
While it is typically the first glyph that is reduplicated, non-initial glyphs may instead be reduplicated if they are semantically salient:
sis-
"hear"
sisis- , ,
"be heard"
Here, the second glyph is a pictogram of an ear, so it is semantically more salient than , which means "thought".
Compound verbs reduplicate only the first glyph:
teykhu-
"cut off"
teyteykhu-
"be cut off"
Example sentence:
Nhayta trun-data besta tah-usustharurmu man pirirta tah-purmu-buru.
cow-ANIM.SG.NOM big-ATR-ANIM.SG.NOM chicken-ANIM.SG.NOM PST-PAS-slaughter-PL-3 but goat-PL-ANIM.NOM PST-undergo-PL-3-NEG
The cow and the big chicken were slaughtered, but the goats were not.
The verb pu- "undergo" is used as the default replacement for passive verbs.
Also, the glyph TEY is here read as us because it has been extracted from the glyph USTHAR "slaughter" to form the passive.
Grammatical Outline
Naduta indicates passive voice through reduplication of the root.
ku- "see"
kuku- "be seen"
Reduplicated aspirated consonants typically lose their aspiration on the first instance of that consonant:
phah- "write"
paphah- "be written"
(the final -h has also been lost)
For two-syllable roots, it is typically the first syllable only that is reduplicated:
anu- "speak"
ananu- "be spoken"
In compound verbs, only the first root is reduplicated:
ehnhi- "come out"
ehehnhi- "be drawn out"
(eh- "come", nhi- "go/come out")
(Notice also that the passive on intransitive verbs creates a kind of causative passive)
Within words, the sequence /ɾɾ/ always becomes /tɾ/, including in the formation of the passive root:
rur- "dig"
rutrur- "be dug"
Orthography
This reduplication is also represented orthographically. Sometimes the entire glyph is reduplicated:
anu-
"speak"
ananu-
"be spoken"
However, phonetic complements are not reduplicated:
hi-
"do"
ir-
"drink"
hihi-
"be done"
irir-
"be drunk" (said of a drink)
Words employing more than one semantic glyph may reduplicate the entire glyph or simply the first glyph. Often, more than one option is available:
ku-
"see"
kuku- ,
"be seen"
Sometimes both glyphs are reduplicated, but still occur in the same order:
phah-
"write"
paphah- , ,
"be written"
While it is typically the first glyph that is reduplicated, non-initial glyphs may instead be reduplicated if they are semantically salient:
sis-
"hear"
sisis- , ,
"be heard"
Here, the second glyph is a pictogram of an ear, so it is semantically more salient than , which means "thought".
Compound verbs reduplicate only the first glyph:
teykhu-
"cut off"
teyteykhu-
"be cut off"
Example sentence:
Nhayta trun-data besta tah-usustharurmu man pirirta tah-purmu-buru.
cow-ANIM.SG.NOM big-ATR-ANIM.SG.NOM chicken-ANIM.SG.NOM PST-PAS-slaughter-PL-3 but goat-PL-ANIM.NOM PST-undergo-PL-3-NEG
The cow and the big chicken were slaughtered, but the goats were not.
The verb pu- "undergo" is used as the default replacement for passive verbs.
Also, the glyph TEY is here read as us because it has been extracted from the glyph USTHAR "slaughter" to form the passive.
Last edited by clawgrip on Wed Jan 22, 2014 11:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Naduta language and script
I thought I would post something more significant than the few simple sentences I've been posting so far. Since this language has been partially inspired by Mesopotamian and Egyptian things, I thought what better story to translate than the Epic of Gilgamesh. I have begun translating the first part of it. It's really long, so I've only done a bit so far. I've slightly interpreted the translation on my own, since I had trouble at first determining which translation to work from.
Girgamesata day khinhih tah-kudata kheta, usey tu phurnhidaih whegedaih asih yusdata kheta, … kumayyurmu … bitigir-ya tenthisdah yusbitih tah-khemewa, ruisdarih yuswa nhunusdaih asih tah-kudata kheta, usta yedisih unarwir idarey iganey menumu; gas-ya truyadaih munrih tah-buywa, tah-saparmu man, wekih tu tah-ehehmu. Yumis sun khinhithay'he tu dirdah as'he yah whegeh tah-phahmu. Yumis Uruka-Supuru yarih narih ya, waydah Eana yah disah ya, nhubispheih yariih narih tah-trumu. Pasrih thebidarih narih kudu. Treyyadaih naih wharkudu, pasreta yhurmay'hiwunmu-buru. Dennasiih pemuwudu; truyeywerih gi bayurmu asay! Istarey yah meuyuh ya Eana yah disah tu nudu; nuyehdarta tharta tin kherta yata uthugata whasgamu-buru. Urukah yariih narih yah eytuh tu sewa huuwhedu; untusuyih phusgadu; kuharkhih ababaya wharkudu; kunta yan gehmen yan sinarun unarwe tenih tu tah-muymuydarih kurih tah-trutrurmu-buru-san? Puryae darhabarta day, rusurta barta pasrih kurih tah-wemurmu-buru-san?
Girgamesata day khinhih tah-kudata kheta,
[g=Gilgamesh]Girgamesa[/g] [g=NOM.ANIM]-ta[/g] [g=TOP]day[/g] [g=history]khinhi[/g] [g=OBJ.KN]-h[/g] [g=PST]tah=[/g] [g=see]ku[/g] [g=ATTR]-da[/g] [g=NOM.ANIM]-ta[/g] [g=man]khe[/g] [g=NOM.ANIM]-ta[/g]
Gilgamesh, the man who has seen history,
Usey tu phurnhidaih whegedaih asih yusdata kheta,
[g=3]us[/g] [g=OBJ.ANIM]-ey[/g] [g=DAT]tu[/g] [g=happen]phurnhi[/g] [g=ATTR]-da[/g] [g=OBJ.UKN]-ih[/g] [g=all]whege[/g] [g=ATTR]-da[/g] [g=OBJ.UKN]-ih[/g] [g=things]as[/g] [g=OBJ.UKN]-ih[/g] [g=know]yus[/g] [g=ATTR]-da[/g] [g=NOM.ANIM]-ta[/g] [g=man]khe[/g] [g=NOM.ANIM]-ta[/g]
The man who knows all things,
… kumayyurmu …
[g=together]kumay[/g] [g=be]yu[/g] [g=PL]-r[/g] [g=3]-mu[/g]
They are together, (I believe the original tablet is damaged here and this is all that can be read of the line)
Bitigir-ya tenthisdah yusbitih tah-khemewa,
[g=complete]bitigir[/g] [g=be.ADV]ya[/g] [g=varied]tenthis[/g] [g=ATTR]da[/g] [g=OBJ.KN]-h[/g] [g=knowledge]yusbiti[/g] [g=OBJ.KN]-h[/g] [g=PST]tah=[/g] [g=meet]kheme[/g] [g=ADV]-wa[/g]
Coming across complete and varied knowledge,
Ruisdarih yuswa nhunusdaih asih tah-kudata kheta,
[g=mystery]ruisda[/g] [g=PL]-r[/g] [g=OBJ.UKN]-ih[/g] [g=know]yus-[/g] [g=ADV]-wa[/g] [g=PAS]nhu-[/g] [g=hide]nus[/g] [g=ATTR]-da[/g] [g=OBJ.UKN]-ih[/g] [g=things]as[/g] [g=OBJ.UKN]-ih[/g] [g=PST]tah=[/g] [g=see]ku[/g] [g=ATTR]-da[/g] [g=NOM.ANIM]-ta[/g] [g=man]khe[/g] [g=NOM.ANIM]-ta[/g]
The man who knows the mysteries and sees what is hidden,
Usta yedisih unarwir idarey iganey menumu;
3-SB.ANIM flood-OBJ.UKN even-before be-ATTR-PL-OBJ.ANIM news-OBJ.ANIM report-3
He brings word even from before the flood;
Gas-ya truyadaih munrih tah-buywa,
far-be.ADV distant-ATTR-OBJ.UKN road-PL-OBJ.UKN PST=follow.along-ADV
Travelling along far and distant roads,
Tah-saparmu man, wekih tu tah-ehehmu.
PST=tire-3 but, peace-OBJ.UKN to PST=PAS-come-3.
He became weary, but was brought to peace.
Yumis sun khinhithay'he tu dirdah as'he yah whegeh tah-phahmu.
be-and now writing.tablet-OBJ.KN DAT other-ATTR.OBJ.KN GEN-OBJ.KN everything-OBJ.KN PST=write-3
And now he has written down on steles all about other things,
Yumis Uruka-Supuru yarih narih ya,
be-and Uruk-Supuru GEN-PL-OBJ.UKN wall-PL-OBJ.UKN be-ADV
And the walls of Uruk-Supuru,
Waydah Eana yah disah ya, nhubispheih yariih narih tah-trumu.
sacred-ATTR-OBJ.KN Eanna GEN-OBJ.KN temple-OBJ.KN be-ADV holy.sanctuary GEN-PL-OBJ.UKN wall-PL-OBJ.UKN PST=make-3
And the sacred temple of Eanna; he built the walls of the holy sanctuary.
Pasrih thebidarih narih kudu.
that-PL-OBJ.UKN shining-ATTR-OBJ.UKN wall-PL.UKN see-IMP
Look at those shining walls!
Treyyadaih naih wharkudu, pasreta yhurmay'hiwunmu-buru.
inner-ATTR-OBJ.UKN wall-OBJ.UKN inspect-IMP, that-PL-NOM.UKN compare-ADV-POT-3=NEG
Inspect the inner wall! It cannot be compared.
Dennasiih pemuwudu; truyeywerih gi bayurmu asay!
threshold-OBJ.UKN grasp-IMP; ancient.past-OBJ.UKN from span-3 HORT
Grasp the threshold! Know that it dates from the distant past!
Istarey yah meuyuh ya Eana yah disah tu nudu;
Ishtar-OBJ.ANIM GEN-OBJ.KN home-OBJ.KN be.ADV Eanna GEN-OBJ.KN temple-OBJ.KN DAT approach-IMP
Approach the temple of Eanna, the home of Ishtar;
Nuyehdarta tharta tin kherta yata uthugata whasgamu-buru.
subsequent-ATTR king-PL-NOM.ANIM or GEN-NOM.ANIM everyone-NOM.ANIM compare-3=NEG
None of the subsequent kings or men could compare.
Urukah yariih narih yah eytuh tu sewa huuwhedu;
Uruk-OBJ.KN GEN-PL-OBJ.UKN wall-PL-OBJ.UKN top-OBJ.KN DAT climb-ADV walk.around-IMP
Climb to the top of the walls of Uruk and walk around;
Untusuyih phusgadu; kuharkhih ababaya wharkudu;
foundation-OBJ.UKN examine-IMP; brickwork-OBJ.KN thorough-be.ADV inspect-IMP
Examine the foundation; inspect the brickwork thoroughly;
Kunta yan gehmen yan sinarun unarwe tenih tu tah-muymuydarih kurih tah-trutrurmu-buru-san?
brick-NOM.UKN GEN-NOM.KN structure-NOM.KN GEN-NOM.KN core-NOM.KN even kiln-OBJ.UKN DAT PST=PSV-bake-ATTR-PL-OBJ.UKN brick-PL-OBJ.UKN PST=PSV-make-PL-3=NEG=Q
Is not even the core of the brick structure made of kiln-fired bricks?
Puryae darhabarta day, rusurta barta pasrih kurih tah-wemurmu-buru-san?
seven-be-ATTR sage-PL-NOM.ANIM TOP this-PL-NOM.ANIM person-PL-NOM.ANIM that-PL-OBJ.UKN brick-PL-OBJ.UKN PST=arrange-PL-3=NEG=Q
Did not the seven sages themselves arrange those bricks?
Girgamesata day khinhih tah-kudata kheta, usey tu phurnhidaih whegedaih asih yusdata kheta, … kumayyurmu … bitigir-ya tenthisdah yusbitih tah-khemewa, ruisdarih yuswa nhunusdaih asih tah-kudata kheta, usta yedisih unarwir idarey iganey menumu; gas-ya truyadaih munrih tah-buywa, tah-saparmu man, wekih tu tah-ehehmu. Yumis sun khinhithay'he tu dirdah as'he yah whegeh tah-phahmu. Yumis Uruka-Supuru yarih narih ya, waydah Eana yah disah ya, nhubispheih yariih narih tah-trumu. Pasrih thebidarih narih kudu. Treyyadaih naih wharkudu, pasreta yhurmay'hiwunmu-buru. Dennasiih pemuwudu; truyeywerih gi bayurmu asay! Istarey yah meuyuh ya Eana yah disah tu nudu; nuyehdarta tharta tin kherta yata uthugata whasgamu-buru. Urukah yariih narih yah eytuh tu sewa huuwhedu; untusuyih phusgadu; kuharkhih ababaya wharkudu; kunta yan gehmen yan sinarun unarwe tenih tu tah-muymuydarih kurih tah-trutrurmu-buru-san? Puryae darhabarta day, rusurta barta pasrih kurih tah-wemurmu-buru-san?
Girgamesata day khinhih tah-kudata kheta,
[g=Gilgamesh]Girgamesa[/g] [g=NOM.ANIM]-ta[/g] [g=TOP]day[/g] [g=history]khinhi[/g] [g=OBJ.KN]-h[/g] [g=PST]tah=[/g] [g=see]ku[/g] [g=ATTR]-da[/g] [g=NOM.ANIM]-ta[/g] [g=man]khe[/g] [g=NOM.ANIM]-ta[/g]
Gilgamesh, the man who has seen history,
Usey tu phurnhidaih whegedaih asih yusdata kheta,
[g=3]us[/g] [g=OBJ.ANIM]-ey[/g] [g=DAT]tu[/g] [g=happen]phurnhi[/g] [g=ATTR]-da[/g] [g=OBJ.UKN]-ih[/g] [g=all]whege[/g] [g=ATTR]-da[/g] [g=OBJ.UKN]-ih[/g] [g=things]as[/g] [g=OBJ.UKN]-ih[/g] [g=know]yus[/g] [g=ATTR]-da[/g] [g=NOM.ANIM]-ta[/g] [g=man]khe[/g] [g=NOM.ANIM]-ta[/g]
The man who knows all things,
… kumayyurmu …
[g=together]kumay[/g] [g=be]yu[/g] [g=PL]-r[/g] [g=3]-mu[/g]
They are together, (I believe the original tablet is damaged here and this is all that can be read of the line)
Bitigir-ya tenthisdah yusbitih tah-khemewa,
[g=complete]bitigir[/g] [g=be.ADV]ya[/g] [g=varied]tenthis[/g] [g=ATTR]da[/g] [g=OBJ.KN]-h[/g] [g=knowledge]yusbiti[/g] [g=OBJ.KN]-h[/g] [g=PST]tah=[/g] [g=meet]kheme[/g] [g=ADV]-wa[/g]
Coming across complete and varied knowledge,
Ruisdarih yuswa nhunusdaih asih tah-kudata kheta,
[g=mystery]ruisda[/g] [g=PL]-r[/g] [g=OBJ.UKN]-ih[/g] [g=know]yus-[/g] [g=ADV]-wa[/g] [g=PAS]nhu-[/g] [g=hide]nus[/g] [g=ATTR]-da[/g] [g=OBJ.UKN]-ih[/g] [g=things]as[/g] [g=OBJ.UKN]-ih[/g] [g=PST]tah=[/g] [g=see]ku[/g] [g=ATTR]-da[/g] [g=NOM.ANIM]-ta[/g] [g=man]khe[/g] [g=NOM.ANIM]-ta[/g]
The man who knows the mysteries and sees what is hidden,
Usta yedisih unarwir idarey iganey menumu;
3-SB.ANIM flood-OBJ.UKN even-before be-ATTR-PL-OBJ.ANIM news-OBJ.ANIM report-3
He brings word even from before the flood;
Gas-ya truyadaih munrih tah-buywa,
far-be.ADV distant-ATTR-OBJ.UKN road-PL-OBJ.UKN PST=follow.along-ADV
Travelling along far and distant roads,
Tah-saparmu man, wekih tu tah-ehehmu.
PST=tire-3 but, peace-OBJ.UKN to PST=PAS-come-3.
He became weary, but was brought to peace.
Yumis sun khinhithay'he tu dirdah as'he yah whegeh tah-phahmu.
be-and now writing.tablet-OBJ.KN DAT other-ATTR.OBJ.KN GEN-OBJ.KN everything-OBJ.KN PST=write-3
And now he has written down on steles all about other things,
Yumis Uruka-Supuru yarih narih ya,
be-and Uruk-Supuru GEN-PL-OBJ.UKN wall-PL-OBJ.UKN be-ADV
And the walls of Uruk-Supuru,
Waydah Eana yah disah ya, nhubispheih yariih narih tah-trumu.
sacred-ATTR-OBJ.KN Eanna GEN-OBJ.KN temple-OBJ.KN be-ADV holy.sanctuary GEN-PL-OBJ.UKN wall-PL-OBJ.UKN PST=make-3
And the sacred temple of Eanna; he built the walls of the holy sanctuary.
Pasrih thebidarih narih kudu.
that-PL-OBJ.UKN shining-ATTR-OBJ.UKN wall-PL.UKN see-IMP
Look at those shining walls!
Treyyadaih naih wharkudu, pasreta yhurmay'hiwunmu-buru.
inner-ATTR-OBJ.UKN wall-OBJ.UKN inspect-IMP, that-PL-NOM.UKN compare-ADV-POT-3=NEG
Inspect the inner wall! It cannot be compared.
Dennasiih pemuwudu; truyeywerih gi bayurmu asay!
threshold-OBJ.UKN grasp-IMP; ancient.past-OBJ.UKN from span-3 HORT
Grasp the threshold! Know that it dates from the distant past!
Istarey yah meuyuh ya Eana yah disah tu nudu;
Ishtar-OBJ.ANIM GEN-OBJ.KN home-OBJ.KN be.ADV Eanna GEN-OBJ.KN temple-OBJ.KN DAT approach-IMP
Approach the temple of Eanna, the home of Ishtar;
Nuyehdarta tharta tin kherta yata uthugata whasgamu-buru.
subsequent-ATTR king-PL-NOM.ANIM or GEN-NOM.ANIM everyone-NOM.ANIM compare-3=NEG
None of the subsequent kings or men could compare.
Urukah yariih narih yah eytuh tu sewa huuwhedu;
Uruk-OBJ.KN GEN-PL-OBJ.UKN wall-PL-OBJ.UKN top-OBJ.KN DAT climb-ADV walk.around-IMP
Climb to the top of the walls of Uruk and walk around;
Untusuyih phusgadu; kuharkhih ababaya wharkudu;
foundation-OBJ.UKN examine-IMP; brickwork-OBJ.KN thorough-be.ADV inspect-IMP
Examine the foundation; inspect the brickwork thoroughly;
Kunta yan gehmen yan sinarun unarwe tenih tu tah-muymuydarih kurih tah-trutrurmu-buru-san?
brick-NOM.UKN GEN-NOM.KN structure-NOM.KN GEN-NOM.KN core-NOM.KN even kiln-OBJ.UKN DAT PST=PSV-bake-ATTR-PL-OBJ.UKN brick-PL-OBJ.UKN PST=PSV-make-PL-3=NEG=Q
Is not even the core of the brick structure made of kiln-fired bricks?
Puryae darhabarta day, rusurta barta pasrih kurih tah-wemurmu-buru-san?
seven-be-ATTR sage-PL-NOM.ANIM TOP this-PL-NOM.ANIM person-PL-NOM.ANIM that-PL-OBJ.UKN brick-PL-OBJ.UKN PST=arrange-PL-3=NEG=Q
Did not the seven sages themselves arrange those bricks?
Last edited by clawgrip on Fri Jan 24, 2014 1:40 am, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Naduta language and script
I agree with Masako, simply amazing! And to think that you accomplished all of this in a few months. If only I was that dedicated... But anyway, seeing it laid out in a large text is really nice. I like how the characters aren't laid out in nice simple blocks and has a really nice flow to it, like a handwritten alphabet rather than a ceremonial logography. No offense to Fkeuswa but I think I like Naduta better, even though I think Fkeuswa has a bit more character (does that count as a pun?). Great job!
Re: Naduta language and script
Thanks to both of you. Indeed I realize now that the bulk of this was done in about a month (and a lot of it actually within the past week, after I decided to write out this Gilgamesh thing).
My main goals with this script were to make it slightly more obviously pictographic, to avoid the uniformity of Fkeuswa or Chinese, and to mix up semantic and phonetic glyphs all over. I also was trying to take advantage of glyph stacking in order to make the script somewhat less linear in appearance (I also admit that I like how random that pitchfork glyph looks just kind of sitting on top of other glyphs in the middle of the second-to-last line).
This script originated on paper, and its current appearance is closely based on my handwriting of it. I can write it with my trusty thick-tipped Pilot gel pen so that it looks quite similar to how it appears on the computer screen (though not quite as refined). I guess this shows through.
My main goals with this script were to make it slightly more obviously pictographic, to avoid the uniformity of Fkeuswa or Chinese, and to mix up semantic and phonetic glyphs all over. I also was trying to take advantage of glyph stacking in order to make the script somewhat less linear in appearance (I also admit that I like how random that pitchfork glyph looks just kind of sitting on top of other glyphs in the middle of the second-to-last line).
This script originated on paper, and its current appearance is closely based on my handwriting of it. I can write it with my trusty thick-tipped Pilot gel pen so that it looks quite similar to how it appears on the computer screen (though not quite as refined). I guess this shows through.
Re: Naduta language and script
The Modal Stem
So far I have covered the basic stem and the passive stem. Now I will explain the modal stem. This stem is used in conjunction with modal suffixes.
Formation
For most verbs, forming the modal stem is as simple as adding the suffix –hi:
ke-, kehi- to stop
nhus-, nhus'hi- to hide
However, there are a lot of potential complications (all of which are indicated with explicit phonetic signs):
Verb stems ending in –h instead take the suffix –ki:
eh-, ehki- to come
phah-, phahki- to write
This also happens to the verb hi- to do, to differentiate it from its passive stem hihi:
hi-, hiki- to do
Verbs ending in –n and –y replace the expected –n'hi/-y'hi ending with –nhi/–yhi (n̥i/j̊i):
apan-, apanhi- to manipulate; to adjust
buy-, buyhi- to follow along
Verbs ending in consonants that have breathy counterparts (p, t, k, m, n, y, w) followed by /i/ will be simply replace the non-breathy consonant with the breathy one:
biti-, bithi- to cover; to wrap
dephuni-, dephunhi- to crawl out
Some verbs are irregular in that their roots end with phonemically disallowed final consonants, which are consequently dropped or altered in most cases. However, they do occasionally resurface, and it is noticeable in the modal stem:
huu-, huwhi- to walk
su-, suthi- to fight
The second syllable of verbs with biconsonantal roots will be dropped or reduced to a schwa when the regular suffix is added:
anu- anəhi- to speak
heme- heməhi- to attach
This is entirely allophonic and is not indicated in the native orthography or transliteration.
Use
The modal stem is used in conjunction with a variety of modal suffixes. Here is a list:
-wun can; be able
-si want to
-pu must; have to
-rwha be likely to; be sure to
-tre may; be allowed to
-ga if
(I’m not entirely sure yet if I will add any more)
The regular personal suffixes are added on after these. Examples:
Phuta kureha khuhiwunmu-buru.
dog-NOM.ANIM stone-OBJ.PL.UKN remove-MOD-can-3=NEG
The dog can't move the stones out of the way.
(as you can see, the -hi suffix can be moved out of order for aesthetic reasons)
Thiy bithipura.
flame-OBJ.ANIM cover.MOD-must-2
You have to cover the flame.
Nhayta reih tu musurhirwhamu.
cow-NOM.ANIM hole-OBJ.UKN DAT enter-fall-MOD-EVID-3
The cow will surely fall in the hole.
Pasuh bih teydurhisigu.
that-OBJ.KN tree-OBJ.KN cut.down-MOD-want-1
I want to cut down that tree.
Yhus'he tah-bayuruhitrera-buru.
river-OBJ.KN PST-go.across-MOD-PERM-1.PL-NEG
We weren't allowed to cross the river.
Usey kuhigara buh menu-du-me.
3-OBJ.ANIM see-MOD-if-2 1-OBJ report-IMP-HORT
If you see him, let me know.
I'm thinking I want to use the modal stem for some other, possibly unrelated non-finite conjugation, but I haven't settled on anything yet.
So far I have covered the basic stem and the passive stem. Now I will explain the modal stem. This stem is used in conjunction with modal suffixes.
Formation
For most verbs, forming the modal stem is as simple as adding the suffix –hi:
ke-, kehi- to stop
nhus-, nhus'hi- to hide
However, there are a lot of potential complications (all of which are indicated with explicit phonetic signs):
Verb stems ending in –h instead take the suffix –ki:
eh-, ehki- to come
phah-, phahki- to write
This also happens to the verb hi- to do, to differentiate it from its passive stem hihi:
hi-, hiki- to do
Verbs ending in –n and –y replace the expected –n'hi/-y'hi ending with –nhi/–yhi (n̥i/j̊i):
apan-, apanhi- to manipulate; to adjust
buy-, buyhi- to follow along
Verbs ending in consonants that have breathy counterparts (p, t, k, m, n, y, w) followed by /i/ will be simply replace the non-breathy consonant with the breathy one:
biti-, bithi- to cover; to wrap
dephuni-, dephunhi- to crawl out
Some verbs are irregular in that their roots end with phonemically disallowed final consonants, which are consequently dropped or altered in most cases. However, they do occasionally resurface, and it is noticeable in the modal stem:
huu-, huwhi- to walk
su-, suthi- to fight
The second syllable of verbs with biconsonantal roots will be dropped or reduced to a schwa when the regular suffix is added:
anu- anəhi- to speak
heme- heməhi- to attach
This is entirely allophonic and is not indicated in the native orthography or transliteration.
Use
The modal stem is used in conjunction with a variety of modal suffixes. Here is a list:
-wun can; be able
-si want to
-pu must; have to
-rwha be likely to; be sure to
-tre may; be allowed to
-ga if
(I’m not entirely sure yet if I will add any more)
The regular personal suffixes are added on after these. Examples:
Phuta kureha khuhiwunmu-buru.
dog-NOM.ANIM stone-OBJ.PL.UKN remove-MOD-can-3=NEG
The dog can't move the stones out of the way.
(as you can see, the -hi suffix can be moved out of order for aesthetic reasons)
Thiy bithipura.
flame-OBJ.ANIM cover.MOD-must-2
You have to cover the flame.
Nhayta reih tu musurhirwhamu.
cow-NOM.ANIM hole-OBJ.UKN DAT enter-fall-MOD-EVID-3
The cow will surely fall in the hole.
Pasuh bih teydurhisigu.
that-OBJ.KN tree-OBJ.KN cut.down-MOD-want-1
I want to cut down that tree.
Yhus'he tah-bayuruhitrera-buru.
river-OBJ.KN PST-go.across-MOD-PERM-1.PL-NEG
We weren't allowed to cross the river.
Usey kuhigara buh menu-du-me.
3-OBJ.ANIM see-MOD-if-2 1-OBJ report-IMP-HORT
If you see him, let me know.
I'm thinking I want to use the modal stem for some other, possibly unrelated non-finite conjugation, but I haven't settled on anything yet.
Last edited by clawgrip on Wed Dec 18, 2013 10:10 am, edited 5 times in total.
Re: Naduta language and script
You already use it for conditional clauses so extending its use to other types of adverbial clauses would be one direction to look at, temporal clauses in particular.clawgrip wrote:I'm thinking I want to use the modal stem for some other, possibly unrelated non-finite conjugation, but I haven't settled on anything yet.
Re: Naduta language and script
That sounds like a good idea. The "if" morpheme -ga already can be used in some temporal clauses. It can "when" when it is combined with the conjunction aru "so therefore; hence; from this":
Tah-miugu aru sapargu.
PST=run-1 hence tire-1
I'm tired because I ran.
Miwhigagu aru sapargu.
run-MOD-if-1 hence tire-1
When I run I will get tired.
It can also be used with the particle unar "more" to indicate "if ever" or "whenever":
Unar combines with mis "and (then)" and is used with -ga to indicate "if ever":
Bunta dephunhigamu unarmis usey khengu.
lizard-NOM.ANIM crawl.out-MOD-if-3 even-and 3.OBJ.ANIM stab.1
If the lizard ever crawls out I will stab it.
Here it combines with aru "so; hence" and combines with -ga to mean "whenever":
Khemehigari unararu iwargu.
meet-MOD-if-1.PL even-hence be.pleased-PL-1
Whenever we meet we are happy.
Unararu can also be shortened to unatru:
Khemehigari unatru iwargu.
Whenever we meet we are happy.
Tah-miugu aru sapargu.
PST=run-1 hence tire-1
I'm tired because I ran.
Miwhigagu aru sapargu.
run-MOD-if-1 hence tire-1
When I run I will get tired.
It can also be used with the particle unar "more" to indicate "if ever" or "whenever":
Unar combines with mis "and (then)" and is used with -ga to indicate "if ever":
Bunta dephunhigamu unarmis usey khengu.
lizard-NOM.ANIM crawl.out-MOD-if-3 even-and 3.OBJ.ANIM stab.1
If the lizard ever crawls out I will stab it.
Here it combines with aru "so; hence" and combines with -ga to mean "whenever":
Khemehigari unararu iwargu.
meet-MOD-if-1.PL even-hence be.pleased-PL-1
Whenever we meet we are happy.
Unararu can also be shortened to unatru:
Khemehigari unatru iwargu.
Whenever we meet we are happy.
Last edited by clawgrip on Fri Dec 13, 2013 10:08 am, edited 1 time in total.
- Herra Ratatoskr
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Re: Naduta language and script
I'm really liking the script. It reminds me a bit of a mix of cuneiform and Chinese, while still having a very distinct character. Are you going to be making any formalized tutorials on writing the characters? Will there be more calligraphic variants? Maybe a simplified version for quicker writing? I'm getting ahead of myself, however. Nice work!
I am Ratatosk, Norse Squirrel of Strife!
There are 10 types of people in this world:
-Those who understand binary
-Those who don't
Mater tua circeta ibat et pater tuus sambucorum olficiebat!
There are 10 types of people in this world:
-Those who understand binary
-Those who don't
Mater tua circeta ibat et pater tuus sambucorum olficiebat!
Re: Naduta language and script
It may be a while before I come up with any formal way of teaching the writing. I want to complete the basic phonetic syllabary that I use for phonetic complements. It's nearly complete, but there are still several blanks (but there are also duplicates glyphs for certain syllable, and certain glyphs that indicate more than one syllable). As you can probably tell, it's a big mess and rather haphazard (on purpose), so learning to write it (and figuring out how to teach it) is I guess quite a challenge. Inspired by Egyptian, I occasionally have excessively long strings of glyphs for relatively short words (e.g. huu-), and in multiple cases there is no overt indication if certain glyphs should be interpreted semantically or phonetically (again, on purpose). The script is heavily tied to the nuances of the language, so it will be hard to teach them separately.
Re: Naduta language and script
As a sample, here are a few of the example sentences from this thread, with script glossing.
Key:
lower case: used phonetically only (though is often only approximate)
upper case: USED SEMANTICALLY AND PHONETICALLY (sometimes only approximate)
superscript: USED SEMANTICALLY
superscript & parentheses: USED SEMANTICALLY TO REPRESENT AN UNRELATED WORD(whose pronunciation is written here but is not indicated in the script itself)
- indicates adjacent glyphs.
= indicates a merger of glyphs resulting in some alteration or deformation, for aesthetic reasons
Yeta wis-yubura (yuburuwa) hesguburu.
YE-ta-THE-wi-yur-BURU-wa-RAN-KHUR-YE(HES)-BURU-gu
WATER-axe-SUN-"wi"-grain-NOT-horn-TOUCH-BODY-WATER(SWIM)-NOT-fish
water-ANIM.SBJ clear=be-NEG-ADV swim-1.SG-NEG
The water is not clear, so I will not swim. (The water not being clear, I do not swim).
Nhayta trun-data besta tah-usustharurmu man pirirta tah-purmu-buru.
NHAY-ta-TRUN-da-ta-BES-ta-TAH-KIS-SE(us)-KHAY-KIS-SE(USTHAR)-R-MU-Ø-ma-PIR-R-ta-TREY=RAN(PU)-R-BURU-MU
CATTLE-axe-BIG-hand-axe-CHICKEN-axe-PAST-KNIFE-SLICE("us")-LIVESTOCK-KNIFE-SLICE(SLAUGHTER)-PL-3-SEMANTIC.INDICATOR-hay-GOAT-PL-axe-INSIDE=TOUCH(UNDERGO)-PL-NOT-3
cow-ANIM.SG.NOM big-ATR-ANIM.SG.NOM chicken-ANIM.SG.NOM PST-PAS-slaughter-PL-3 but goat-PL-ANIM.NOM PST-undergo-PL-3-NEG
The cow and the big chicken were slaughtered, but the goats were not.
Dennasiih pemuwudu; truyeywerih gi bayurmu asay!
DEN-RUDA-na-uh-MHIR-GAU(PEMUU)-du-DEN=trun-APAN-TU-wes-R-uh-Ø-gir-DEN-UPU=GUPHAS-ba-MU-YHUN-as-yi
FOOT-PORTAL-fence-skin-ARM-PILLAR(GRASP)-bone-FOOT=big-MANIPULATE-LEG-shrub-PL-skin-SEMANTIC.INDICATOR-building-FOOT-BE/GO.SOMEWHERE=CONNECT-person-3-THINK-thing-"y(i)"
threshold-OBJ.UKN grasp-IMP; ancient.past-OBJ.UKN from span-3 HORT
Grasp the threshold! Know that it dates from the distant past!
Phuta kureha khuhiwunmu-buru.
PHU-ta-KU=KU-uh-APAN=KE(KHU)-RAN-wus=hir-BURU-MU
DOG-axe-BRICK=BRICK-skin-MANIPULATE-STOP(remove)-TOUCH-brush-fill-NOT-3
dog-NOM.ANIM stone-OBJ.PL.UKN remove-MOD-can-3=NEG
The dog can't move the stones out of the way.
Thiy bithipura.
RUH-GEN(THI)-yi-BITI-RUH-GEN(thi)-YE-RUH(PU)-ra
FIRE-SMALL(FLAME)-"y(i)"-COVER-fire-small(flame)-WATER-FIRE(MUST)-chair
flame-OBJ.ANIM cover.MOD-must-2
You have to cover the flame.
These glosses make it look more random than it seems to me.
Key:
lower case: used phonetically only (though is often only approximate)
upper case: USED SEMANTICALLY AND PHONETICALLY (sometimes only approximate)
superscript: USED SEMANTICALLY
superscript & parentheses: USED SEMANTICALLY TO REPRESENT AN UNRELATED WORD(whose pronunciation is written here but is not indicated in the script itself)
- indicates adjacent glyphs.
= indicates a merger of glyphs resulting in some alteration or deformation, for aesthetic reasons
Yeta wis-yubura (yuburuwa) hesguburu.
YE-ta-THE-wi-yur-BURU-wa-RAN-KHUR-YE(HES)-BURU-gu
WATER-axe-SUN-"wi"-grain-NOT-horn-TOUCH-BODY-WATER(SWIM)-NOT-fish
water-ANIM.SBJ clear=be-NEG-ADV swim-1.SG-NEG
The water is not clear, so I will not swim. (The water not being clear, I do not swim).
Nhayta trun-data besta tah-usustharurmu man pirirta tah-purmu-buru.
NHAY-ta-TRUN-da-ta-BES-ta-TAH-KIS-SE(us)-KHAY-KIS-SE(USTHAR)-R-MU-Ø-ma-PIR-R-ta-TREY=RAN(PU)-R-BURU-MU
CATTLE-axe-BIG-hand-axe-CHICKEN-axe-PAST-KNIFE-SLICE("us")-LIVESTOCK-KNIFE-SLICE(SLAUGHTER)-PL-3-SEMANTIC.INDICATOR-hay-GOAT-PL-axe-INSIDE=TOUCH(UNDERGO)-PL-NOT-3
cow-ANIM.SG.NOM big-ATR-ANIM.SG.NOM chicken-ANIM.SG.NOM PST-PAS-slaughter-PL-3 but goat-PL-ANIM.NOM PST-undergo-PL-3-NEG
The cow and the big chicken were slaughtered, but the goats were not.
Dennasiih pemuwudu; truyeywerih gi bayurmu asay!
DEN-RUDA-na-uh-MHIR-GAU(PEMUU)-du-DEN=trun-APAN-TU-wes-R-uh-Ø-gir-DEN-UPU=GUPHAS-ba-MU-YHUN-as-yi
FOOT-PORTAL-fence-skin-ARM-PILLAR(GRASP)-bone-FOOT=big-MANIPULATE-LEG-shrub-PL-skin-SEMANTIC.INDICATOR-building-FOOT-BE/GO.SOMEWHERE=CONNECT-person-3-THINK-thing-"y(i)"
threshold-OBJ.UKN grasp-IMP; ancient.past-OBJ.UKN from span-3 HORT
Grasp the threshold! Know that it dates from the distant past!
Phuta kureha khuhiwunmu-buru.
PHU-ta-KU=KU-uh-APAN=KE(KHU)-RAN-wus=hir-BURU-MU
DOG-axe-BRICK=BRICK-skin-MANIPULATE-STOP(remove)-TOUCH-brush-fill-NOT-3
dog-NOM.ANIM stone-OBJ.PL.UKN remove-MOD-can-3=NEG
The dog can't move the stones out of the way.
Thiy bithipura.
RUH-GEN(THI)-yi-BITI-RUH-GEN(thi)-YE-RUH(PU)-ra
FIRE-SMALL(FLAME)-"y(i)"-COVER-fire-small(flame)-WATER-FIRE(MUST)-chair
flame-OBJ.ANIM cover.MOD-must-2
You have to cover the flame.
These glosses make it look more random than it seems to me.
Re: Naduta language and script
Can anyone tell me their perception of the functionality of this script? What I mean is, have I explained how it functions in a way that allows you to have at least a general understanding of what functions the various glyphs are performing when provided with a transliteration/gloss, or is my explanation not clear? I am familiar enough with it at this point that I don't know if I'm explaining it poorly. I know for sure I have left out at least a little bit though.
- roninbodhisattva
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Re: Naduta language and script
Can you get a stem that's both passive and modal? What happens if you want to get a modal suffix on a passive stem?
Re: Naduta language and script
The passive modal stem is just a combination of the two, since the passive, formed by reduplication, is essentially a prefix, while the modal is a regular suffix.
So for phus- "to view/observe/watch", you have:
base: phus-
passive: puphus-
modal: phus'hi-
passive modal: puphus'hi-
So for phus- "to view/observe/watch", you have:
base: phus-
passive: puphus-
modal: phus'hi-
passive modal: puphus'hi-
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Re: Naduta language and script
Clawgrip, I know someone has probably asked this before, but what is your setup for making fonts? Also do you use photoshop (or Gimp, etc.) and a tablet to make the images?
linguoboy wrote:So that's what it looks like when the master satirist is moistened by his own moutarde.
Re: Naduta language and script
I've mentioned it a few times, but I generally use a very old version of Adobe Illustrator (though I'm told I can download a newer one for free off the Adobe website) to make the glyphs themselves. I do have a tablet as well which I sometimes use. Other times I actually write the glyphs by hand and then scan them and clean them up in Illustrator. I use High Logic Font Creator to make the fonts themselves.
To make my images I just add alpha channels in Photoshop 5.5 (also very old, but I've been using it for over ten years and I like it for the things its able to do). It has poor unicode support so I just crop screenshots from High Logic or MS Word.
To make my images I just add alpha channels in Photoshop 5.5 (also very old, but I've been using it for over ten years and I like it for the things its able to do). It has poor unicode support so I just crop screenshots from High Logic or MS Word.
Re: Naduta language and script
Thought I'd post a bit of an update here. I've updated the aspectual system of Naduta, so I will explain it here.
Naduta has three inherent lexical aspects, and four morphological aspects. I have named the lexically determined aspects active, frequentative, and stative. The morphological aspects are simple, delimitative, imperfect I, and imperfect II. The lexical aspects are named after the way they behave in the imperfect.
Active verbs are fairly self-explanatory in that they indicate actions in general. They cannot use imperfect II.
Frequentative verbs are identical to active verbs in the simple aspect, but the delimitative and imperfect I indicate multiple repetition of an action rather than a single, prolonged action.
Stative verbs are also self-explanatory. They represent an inherently imperfect state.
The simple aspect indicates habitual or recurring actions, much like English, and is also the most common way of indicating future events (though in fact any aspect can indicate future, as there is no future tense).
The delimitative aspect indicates non-permanent events that are occurring for a short or limited time. Stative verbs cannot use the delimitative.
The imperfect I is used for events that have been continuing for a significant length of time. The focus is on the length of time rather of the action than the temporary nature of the action. For active verbs, this indicates a single, protracted action, while for frequentative verbs it indicates repetition of the same action. Stative verbs do not take the imperfect.
The imperfect II is specifically for states that have been continuing for a significant length of time. Active verbs cannot be used in this aspect. For frequentative verbs, it refers to the continuation of a single iteration of the action, and the state of stative verbs. Essentially, the imperfect II for frequentative and stative verbs is the same as the imperfect I for active verbs.
The delimitative is formed by compounding with phe- "to take"
The imperfect I is formed by compounding with whir- "to touch/come in contact with"
The imperfect II is formed by compounding with upu- "to be (somewhere)/exist (in some place)"
Here is a table:
Some example sentences:
Nasiih whe phurwa phegu.
[g=gate]nasi[/g] [g=KN.OBJ]-ih[/g] [g=near]whe[/g] [g=stand]phur[/g] [g=ADV]-wa[/g] [g=DLM]phe[/g] [g=1]-gu[/g]
I’m standing near the gate at the moment.
Nasiih whe upudarih wesrih teydurwa whirgu.
[g=gate]nasi[/g] [g=KN.OBJ]-ih[/g] [g=near]whe[/g] [g=be]upu[/g] [g=ATTR]-da[/g] [g=PL]-r[/g] [g=UKN.OBJ]-ih[/g] [g=bush]wes[/g] [g=PL]-r[/g] [g=UKN.OBJ]-ih[/g] [g=cut-down]teydur[/g] [g=ADV]-wa[/g] [g=IMPERF.I]whir[/g] [g=1]-gu[/g]
I’m cutting down bushes near the gate.
Nasiih whe upudaih wesih teydurwa upugu.
[g=gate]nasi[/g] [g=KN.OBJ]-ih[/g] [g=near]whe[/g] [g=be]upu[/g] [g=ATTR]-da[/g] [g=UKN.OBJ]-ih[/g] [g=bush]wes[/g] [g=UKN.OBJ]-ih[/g] [g=cut-down]teydur[/g] [g=ADV]-wa[/g] [g=IMPERF.II]upu[/g] [g=1]-gu[/g]
I’m cutting down a bush near the gate.
Notice in the last two examples that where in English the only change is from plural to singular, Naduta additionally requires a different verb conjugation.
Naduta has three inherent lexical aspects, and four morphological aspects. I have named the lexically determined aspects active, frequentative, and stative. The morphological aspects are simple, delimitative, imperfect I, and imperfect II. The lexical aspects are named after the way they behave in the imperfect.
Active verbs are fairly self-explanatory in that they indicate actions in general. They cannot use imperfect II.
Frequentative verbs are identical to active verbs in the simple aspect, but the delimitative and imperfect I indicate multiple repetition of an action rather than a single, prolonged action.
Stative verbs are also self-explanatory. They represent an inherently imperfect state.
The simple aspect indicates habitual or recurring actions, much like English, and is also the most common way of indicating future events (though in fact any aspect can indicate future, as there is no future tense).
The delimitative aspect indicates non-permanent events that are occurring for a short or limited time. Stative verbs cannot use the delimitative.
The imperfect I is used for events that have been continuing for a significant length of time. The focus is on the length of time rather of the action than the temporary nature of the action. For active verbs, this indicates a single, protracted action, while for frequentative verbs it indicates repetition of the same action. Stative verbs do not take the imperfect.
The imperfect II is specifically for states that have been continuing for a significant length of time. Active verbs cannot be used in this aspect. For frequentative verbs, it refers to the continuation of a single iteration of the action, and the state of stative verbs. Essentially, the imperfect II for frequentative and stative verbs is the same as the imperfect I for active verbs.
The delimitative is formed by compounding with phe- "to take"
The imperfect I is formed by compounding with whir- "to touch/come in contact with"
The imperfect II is formed by compounding with upu- "to be (somewhere)/exist (in some place)"
Here is a table:
Some example sentences:
Nasiih whe phurwa phegu.
[g=gate]nasi[/g] [g=KN.OBJ]-ih[/g] [g=near]whe[/g] [g=stand]phur[/g] [g=ADV]-wa[/g] [g=DLM]phe[/g] [g=1]-gu[/g]
I’m standing near the gate at the moment.
Nasiih whe upudarih wesrih teydurwa whirgu.
[g=gate]nasi[/g] [g=KN.OBJ]-ih[/g] [g=near]whe[/g] [g=be]upu[/g] [g=ATTR]-da[/g] [g=PL]-r[/g] [g=UKN.OBJ]-ih[/g] [g=bush]wes[/g] [g=PL]-r[/g] [g=UKN.OBJ]-ih[/g] [g=cut-down]teydur[/g] [g=ADV]-wa[/g] [g=IMPERF.I]whir[/g] [g=1]-gu[/g]
I’m cutting down bushes near the gate.
Nasiih whe upudaih wesih teydurwa upugu.
[g=gate]nasi[/g] [g=KN.OBJ]-ih[/g] [g=near]whe[/g] [g=be]upu[/g] [g=ATTR]-da[/g] [g=UKN.OBJ]-ih[/g] [g=bush]wes[/g] [g=UKN.OBJ]-ih[/g] [g=cut-down]teydur[/g] [g=ADV]-wa[/g] [g=IMPERF.II]upu[/g] [g=1]-gu[/g]
I’m cutting down a bush near the gate.
Notice in the last two examples that where in English the only change is from plural to singular, Naduta additionally requires a different verb conjugation.
Re: Naduta language and script
At long last I have completed the Naduta syllabary (for now):
This is not an actual syllabary, in that Naduta (the classical variety I am presenting here, anyway) is never fully written out exclusively in this syllabary. Instead, these glyphs are most commonly encountered as phonetic complements. Some sounds have more than one possible glyph, and I may add some more as the script develops. In other cases, multiple sounds may be represented by the same sign.
Some examples of how these are used:
dephu- "to crawl" uses the phu glyph as a phonetic complement
khus- "time" uses the khu glyph as a phonetic complement
buy- "to follow along; to run along" uses the bu glyph as a phonetic complement
gi dative particle uses the gi glyph as a phonetic complement
As mentioned before, you can see that phonetic complements are often but not always written in a position raised above the writing line.
This syllabary is employed for various grammatical endings, particularly the final sound glyphs, three of which only occur in grammatical endings. The syllabary is also used to spell out foreign words.
From this sentence used in a previous post:
Khemehigari unararu iwargu.
You can recognize the phonetic complements hi, ga, na, ru, i, -r, gu
This is not an actual syllabary, in that Naduta (the classical variety I am presenting here, anyway) is never fully written out exclusively in this syllabary. Instead, these glyphs are most commonly encountered as phonetic complements. Some sounds have more than one possible glyph, and I may add some more as the script develops. In other cases, multiple sounds may be represented by the same sign.
Some examples of how these are used:
dephu- "to crawl" uses the phu glyph as a phonetic complement
khus- "time" uses the khu glyph as a phonetic complement
buy- "to follow along; to run along" uses the bu glyph as a phonetic complement
gi dative particle uses the gi glyph as a phonetic complement
As mentioned before, you can see that phonetic complements are often but not always written in a position raised above the writing line.
This syllabary is employed for various grammatical endings, particularly the final sound glyphs, three of which only occur in grammatical endings. The syllabary is also used to spell out foreign words.
From this sentence used in a previous post:
Khemehigari unararu iwargu.
You can recognize the phonetic complements hi, ga, na, ru, i, -r, gu
Re: Naduta language and script
So far in Naduta I only had two main classes of root: regular stems and eliding stems. The eliding stems have a final consonant that is disallowed by phonotactic restrictions, so it is missing most of the time and only resurfaces in certain positions.I wanted to make a few more classes to make it a little more interesting, so I decided to add some epenthetic stems as well. These stems work opposite to the eliding stems, in that they have an epenthetic vowel that preserves the final consonant. This vowel appears to be a part of the stem most of the time, but can occasionally disappear. This means there are now 3 classes of stem with a total of ten subclasses.
Here is a chart of the ten verb stem classes. Grey boxes indicate where the stem behaves differently from a regular stem.
The a and e forms of the double epenthetic stems occur in non-finite verb forms. I haven't come up with a clear reason for the existence of the various classes yet.
These changes in stem forms are in general not indicated in the script. The only exception is when the modal suffix creates a breathy consonant from /j w, p, t, k/.
EDIT: I forgot there was an 11th stem (h-stem) so I've added it to the chart.
Here is a chart of the ten verb stem classes. Grey boxes indicate where the stem behaves differently from a regular stem.
The a and e forms of the double epenthetic stems occur in non-finite verb forms. I haven't come up with a clear reason for the existence of the various classes yet.
These changes in stem forms are in general not indicated in the script. The only exception is when the modal suffix creates a breathy consonant from /j w, p, t, k/.
EDIT: I forgot there was an 11th stem (h-stem) so I've added it to the chart.
Last edited by clawgrip on Wed Feb 12, 2014 6:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.