Lexember 2014

Substantial postings about constructed languages and constructed worlds in general. Good place to mention your own or evaluate someone else's. Put quick questions in C&C Quickies instead.
Cedh
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Lexember 2014

Post by Cedh »

December has come, and with it the 3rd iteration of Lexember!

In case you haven't heard about this yet: It's a game with the purpose of expanding the lexicon of one's conlang, with an added social dimension. The rules are simple: For the duration of one month, every participant will create and publish one word per day, ideally with some short notes about etymology, semantics, or usage, possibly augmented by a glossed example sentence. Of course, you are encouraged to comment on other participants' words, or to let yourself be inspired by them.

Here's a more elaborate description of the game, adapted from Christophe Grandsire-Koevoets' blog:
More: show
  • For the entire month of December, every day, once a day, create and publish a new word for one of your conlangs. The publication should contain the word, its definition, and whatever etymological and usage notes you feel like sharing. Examples are welcome but optional. :)
  • The created words should be everyday words relevant for the environment where the conlang is spoken (e.g. its conculture, if it has one). The idea is to identify semantic gaps in your conlang vocabulary, and fill them. So no jargon or technical terms, unless they are also used in daily life by your conlang speakers.
  • The created words should truly be new, i.e. new stems, new derivations and/or new compounds. Just adding a new meaning to an existing word doesn’t count... ;)
  • Using other people’s Lexember creations for inspiration is not only allowed, it’s encouraged! As is commenting on other people’s words. This should be a social event :). Don’t hesitate to link to the post that inspired your own creation when you publish it!
  • While the goal is to create and publish one word per day, we all know that December is home to various other social occasions, so it’s understandable if you are unable to publish your creations everyday. You can always make a catch-up post with two or more Lexember words at once...
  • Have fun! This should feel like a game, not a chore! :)
If you want to join the game, simply post your Lexember contributions in this thread. You can also use various social media instead or in addition: There will be #Lexember hashtags on Twitter, Tumblr, and Google+.

A happy Lexember to everyone!

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Re: Lexember 2014

Post by Cedh »

My own word for Lexember 1st in Ronc Tyu:

fùn (v.) 'it's good (that...)'

This is syntactically an impersonal verb (which only ever appears without an overt subject), but semantically it acts more like an adverb describing the speaker's attitude towards the content of the following clause. It's etymologically related to the verb mbùn ‘be good; do well’, but the exact method of derivation is synchronically opaque.

Fùn tenc htsí lánc yu sei tou.
it_is_good SUB now time of words begin
“It's good that Lexember (lit. the time of words) is starting now.”

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Re: Lexember 2014

Post by KathTheDragon »

Heh, might as well link my tumblr post here.

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Re: Lexember 2014

Post by CatDoom »

For Yewedu:

-efhax [ɛfʰax] (v.) 'to want, to desire'

Regularly derived from dialectical Wendoth zhefaχ ~ ezhfaχ. The Wendoth verb can in turn be projected back to the pre-Wendoth form *zifoɣu, which may be related to Proto-Mbingmik *yəw, with the same meaning.

Pefhāšû be ṭṣâšû bethu.
I-want-IV 1S.NOM that-IV cloak-ACC
I want that cloak (that you have).
Last edited by CatDoom on Tue Dec 02, 2014 1:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Lexember 2014

Post by Šọ̈́gala »

Okay! It's most wonderful time of the year again!

No one's proposed a weekly theme yet (and I can't say folks seemed generally enthusiastic about them last year). I don't really have one in mind myself at present. Perhaps one will develop or someone will feel moved to declare one, or both. If both, perhaps the two will be at odds or perhaps they will be harmonious. I plan to post mostly Swadesh list words this year (as there are still many, many of those that I have yet to create), but I will attempt to find Swadesh or Swadeshlike vocabulary that fits the theme if a theme emerges.

Lexember, day 1:

rúʻụv [ˈruʔṵv] (AN) (rectus)
rúʻụ [ˈruʔṵ] (AN) (construct)
-ruʻụ- [ruʔṵ] (AN) (combining)

noun: horn (of an animal), acute angle, underbrush, thicket, old-fashioned: thorn

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Re: Lexember 2014

Post by Bristel »

Ercunich:

Lexember 1st

svant [svant] (n. masc. o-stem) 'want, desire' from Proto-Celtic swantos.

May be cognate with Gothic swinþs 'strong, healthy' and Old High German gi-sunt 'healthy'.

Lexember 2nd

colin [kolʲin] (n. masc. o-stem) 'holly tree' from Proto-Celic kolinos.

Cognate with OE holegn, OHG (hulis)baum and Albanian kallí (straw, chaff).
[bɹ̠ˤʷɪs.təɫ]
Nōn quālibet inīquā cupiditāte illectus hoc agō
Yo te pongo en tu lugar...
Taisc mach Daró

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Re: Lexember 2014

Post by Nannalu »

I did a separate theme on the CBB for this but I'd like the follow Kath's theme here.

1st DEC
kóvan [ko:van] n. deer
vimupa [vimupa] n. wolf
láihista [la:ihista] n. fox
hertta [hert:a] n. bear
ikayna [ikayna] n. dog
gogánse [goga:nse] n. pig
vauni [vauni] n. cow

2nd DEC
kyrgakois [kyrgakois] n. necklace (neck-rope)
gasúna [gasu:na] n. wheel
héisa [he:isa] n. axle
ruotó [ruoto:] n. chariot
ruotóansín [ruoto:ansi:n] n. carriage
næn:älʉː

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Re: Lexember 2014

Post by KathTheDragon »

Out of interest, are you using the same words as me? I just picked those cos I have decent information on the IE roots for those words.

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Re: Lexember 2014

Post by Nannalu »

KathAveara wrote:Out of interest, are you using the same words as me? I just picked those cos I have decent information on the IE roots for those words.
Yes, I liked the theme.
næn:älʉː

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Re: Lexember 2014

Post by CatDoom »

More Yewedu words, this time referring to different species of insect. All but one of these are derived from pre-existing words, so I decided to do several of them.

cāneše [t̪͡s̪aːnɛʃɛ] (n., class I, fifth declension) "louse"

From Wendoth oich "ant, tiny creature" + acnaceth, a transformed noun stem meaning "itch"

xesāneše [xɛs̪aːnɛʃɛ] (n., class I, fifth declension) "mosquito"

From Wendoth thehesh "stinging or biting insect" + acnaceth, a transformed noun stem meaning "itch"

dēnepe [d̪ɛːnɛpɛ] (n., class I, second declension) "fly"

From Wendoth dindezh "buzz, groan, mumble" + -nu "animate agent nominalizer" + -wį "diminutive"

hûnepe [ɦṳːnɛpɛ] (n., class I, second declension) "grasshopper"

From Wendoth qiu "jump" + -nu "animate agent nominalizer" + -wį "diminutive"

ṣepe [ʂɛpɛ] (n., class I, second declension) "flea"

Borrowing from Rrób Tè Jĕhnò srĕbai, with the second consonant likely devoiced in order to conform with diminutive constructions like those above

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Re: Lexember 2014

Post by Cedh »

Lexember 2nd in Ree Rɛɛ Kıbyaa:

kɛhuu (v.) ‘sing, chant’.

Verbs in Ree Rɛɛ Kıbyaa have two basic aspectual stems. The above citation form is the aorist stem. The second stem is a durative one, which is usually formed through initial CV reduplication. With this verb, the durative stem is kıkɛhuu.

Example sentence:

Gaakıkɛhuu sta rıšuu hlın t’ın gıbar kom.
gaa=kıkɛhuu sta rı-šuu hlın t’ın gı=p’ar kom
PROG=sing.DUR 1PC PL-song for_the_duration_of this DEF.A=complete.ATTR evening
"We have been singing songs for the whole evening."

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Re: Lexember 2014

Post by Haloed Bane »

My first post, cheers!

I was looking through Voluspa to see how much I could translate into my conlang and realized that "bewitch/enthrall" wasn't in my lexicon. This is a pretty important term, so I added one: idanponom, literally cold-suck. So here's a sample sentence in Horgothic (pardon my glossing, no experience with it):

Tan nui idanponotum in gema nu sechan.
Tan nui idan-pono<tu>m in gem-a nu sechan.
3PL PST cold-suck<PASS> by look-NMLZ of beast.
‘He was bewitched by the beast’s gaze.’

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Re: Lexember 2014

Post by Šọ̈́gala »

Lexember day 2:

ñuní [ɲʊˈni] (NA) (rectus)
ñúni [ˈɲuni] (NR) (construct)
- ñuni- [ɲuni] (RN) (combining)

noun: earthworm (typically any small, nonthreatening, soil-dwelling roundworm; can be used more generally for any very small, nonthreatening, land-based animal)

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Re: Lexember 2014

Post by Haloed Bane »

For Lexember 3rd,

I had the word for palm of the hand, but not for the back of the hand. It'll be "linsu". So now I can talk about a lover who expected a caress and got something quite different...

Pu vas kenonam kiglin, ul jich linsu.
Pu vas kenon-am kiglin, ul jich linsu.
1S PST.IPFV craving-VBZ palm merely get back.
‘I longed for the palm and only got the back.’

EDITED for mistake (thanks Doom).
Last edited by Haloed Bane on Thu Dec 04, 2014 7:10 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Lexember 2014

Post by CatDoom »

Haloed Bane wrote:For Lexember 3rd,

I had the word for palm of the hand, but not for the back of the hand. It'll be "linsu". So now I can talk about a lover who expected a caress and got something quite different...

Pu vas kenonam kiglin, ul jich linsu.
Pu vas kenon-am kiglin, ul jich linsu.
1S PST.IPFV craving-VBZ merely get back.
‘I longed for the palm and only got the back.’
Ouch...

Also, I think you forgot to gloss kiglin as "palm."

For Lexember 3rd, here are some names of birds in Yewedu:

ṣhāgenû [ʂʰaːgɛnṳː] (n, class I, second declension) - "crow, raven"

Nominalized form of Wendoth sasang, a reduplicated form of sang, "to cry" which in Yewedu becomes -aṣhā "to weep, wail, mourn." The name can literally be translated as "one who (habitually) wails or mourns," which presumably refers to the association of crows and ravens with carrion, as well as their shrill calls.

ṭhē [ʈʰɛː] (n, class I, fifth declension, inflected stem is ṭhew-) - "owl"

From dialectical Wendoth ṭeṭew. The word bears a passing resemblance to Rrób Tè Jĕhnò [t̪ʰú], but the Wendoth term most likely come from an onomatopoeic form in late-pre-Wendoth along the lines of tutulu.

ṭhîrē [ʈʰi̤ːɾɛː] (n, class I, fifth declension) - "thrush"

Despite the similarity, this is probably an early borrowing, and does not appear to be related to the word for owl.

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Re: Lexember 2014

Post by Šọ̈́gala »

Finally: a dictionary entry for which I can type the IPA without using any special characters!

Lexember day 3:

[ru] (A) (rectus)
rá [rɑ] (N) (construct)
-ru- [ru] (A) (combining)

noun: bird (most commonly a small-to-medium-sized non-raptor, but regularly applied to any type of warm-blooded, feathered, flying animal)

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Re: Lexember 2014

Post by Cedh »

Yesterday's word took me a bit longer than expected, but here it is, along with a fresh word for today...


Lexember 3rd in Tmaśareʔ:

ǫcpohę (v.) ‘discuss, debate, negotiate, talk about sth. in detail with’

Natohnęʔ kakca ǫcpohępǫkwakiʔ yeśoʔ ewoʔlamǫʔ sąʔ.
na-tohną-eʔ ka~kaca-Ø ǫcpohę-pǫ-kwa-kiʔ yeśe-oʔ e-woʔla-mę-oʔ sąʔ
1SG.POSS-father-ERG PL~friend-ABS discuss-SENS-3>3.I-PROG day-GEN 3SG.POSS-plan-VN-GEN in
"My father is discussing his plans for the day with his friends."

Etymology:
Proto-Western *ʔama-dzupʰu-łãγa ‘hunt for spirits together with’. Note that the Tmaśareʔ reflex of PW *łãγa ‘spirit’ as an independent noun has come to mean ‘method, way of thinking, opinion, idea’, so a slightly freer translation of the etymon might be ‘hunt for opinions’.

(The semantically and phonetically similar noun cpohmę ‘problem; issue of debate’ looks like it could be related, but it's in fact derived from PW *cupʰu-γʷĩ ‘irritation’, the verbal noun of a different root *cupʰu- ‘itch, irritate’ [which does not survive into Tmaśareʔ as a verb]. The actual verbal noun of ǫcpohę is ǫcpohęmę.)

As you can see from the glossed example sentence, ǫcpohę has a rather peculiar argument structure: The person talked to occupies the object slot, while the topic of discussion is typically phrased as an oblique argument using the postposition sąʔ ‘at, in’.

Alternatively, a locative applicative prefix may be added to the verb, promoting the topic of discussion to direct object and demoting the addressee of the debate to indirect object. Note how the verb now agrees with noun class VII (abstract things) rather than class I (people and gods):

Natohnęʔ kakca yeśoʔ ewoʔlamę tmǫcpohępǫksekiʔ.
na-tohną-eʔ ka~kaca-Ø yeśe-oʔ e-woʔla-mę-Ø tw-ǫcpohę-pǫ-kse-kiʔ

1SG.POSS-father-ERG PL~friend-ABS day-GEN 3SG.POSS-plan-VN-ABS LOC-discuss-SENS-3>3.VII-PROG


-----


Lexember 4th in Buruya Nzaysa:

nira (n.) ‘silver’

Na lo sasama ogu lu arawi tsore ɔ namə kwɛlu nira barɛda.
PFV.AUX-3SG>3 DEF.NOM baron preparing_for.3 DEF.ACC banquet tomorrow INDEF.ACC some plate silver acquire
"The lord has bought several plates made of silver for his banquet tomorrow."

(Note that nira can be used attributively in the above example because Buruya Nzaysa does not make a lexical distinction between nouns and adjectives.)

Etymology:
nira is a loan from Adāta nīra, which is itself a loan from Gezoro *niːgra. The earliest reconstructible form of the word is Proto-Western *neγla-łaγa ‘white eye’. (Some other names for metals have similar etymologies; compare Buruya Nzaysa səra ‘copper’ < Gezoro *zemra < Proto-Western *dzama-łaγa ‘red eye’.)

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Re: Lexember 2014

Post by Haloed Bane »

Lexember 4th:

The term for "a first-time meeting": jehan. I already had words for appointed meetings and chance meetings, but not for first meetings. Derived verb: jehanam. There are quite a few species with reincarnation beliefs in my conworld, so I'm guessing when waxing philosophical they'd single out the albajehan (a first ever meeting between two souls, lit. great-meeting) and various tarajehan (lit. little-jehan, a meeting for the first time in this life, but not the first meeting ever in the grand sense).

Kolu ja tuk puns nui jehanam, pu gum aul vlui om fel lash.
Kolu ja tuk puns nui jehan-am, pu gum aul vlui om fel lash.
Time in REL 1PL PST meet-VBZ, 1SG know COMP FUT give death 2SG.
‘When we first met, I knew I would kill you.’

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Re: Lexember 2014

Post by Šọ̈́gala »

Lexember day 4:

kö́va [ˈkøvə] (AA) (rectus)
kúvi [ˈkuvi] (AN) (construct)
-kuvi- [kuvi] (AN) (combining)

noun: edible salt, a business trip (i.e. a round-trip journey with a purpose), used figuratively esp. incorporated into deverbal nouns to refer to familiarity or appreciation (rather than strong fondness)

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Re: Lexember 2014

Post by kusuri »

Catching up for Proto Dectree:

Lexember 1st
nasà/nasà to release, to let go of
kacì/kaì to beckon; to entice, enticement
cuikà/cuigà to claw, to scratch, to dig in to; unforgettable event
jasttì/jastì to cross one's arms; to shield oneself

Lexember 2nd
hasggi/hasjji to grimace
tangà/tanjà to be emotionless or expressionless, to frown
ḱiḱḱà/ḱiǵǵà to grin, to laugh
ḱulkka/ḱulgga to recoil, to turn away, to squint, to purse one's lips, to dislike

Lexember 3rd
risḱà/risǵa to submit, to send off/in, to present
kawwi/kawi to retain, to keep (private / quiet (about))
gacii/gaii affair, matter
tuasu/tuasu rumor

Lexember 4th
nimba/nimwa daytime
ḱuĺù/ḱuĺù nighttime; when one can not go outside (for fear of cold)
suwwà/suwà sunrise/dawn; when one can see outside without a torch (and can keep warm)
paba/pawa night-clothing; extra thick coat or blanket
giwwì/giwì bell

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Re: Lexember 2014

Post by Haloed Bane »

Lexember 5th:
An urban agglomeration/sprawl = "shulvumi", a cauldron of people basically.

Hairreidem shulvumins, habom saisaneth tiam huns sui.
Hair-reidem shul-vumi-ns, habom saisan-eth tiam huns sui.
Bomb-strike person-cauldron-PL, let magic-AG.PL take 3PL.PEJ IMP.
‘Bomb the agglomerations and let the witches take them.'

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Re: Lexember 2014

Post by Šọ̈́gala »

Lexember day 5:

wížiw [ˈwiʒɨw] (AN) (infinitive)
wíži-l- [ˈwiʒɨ l] (AN) (aorist, perfective)
wáži-l- [ˈwɑʒɨ l] (AN) (irrealis)
wážim-l- [ˈwɑʒɨm l] (AN) (potential)
-wíži- [ˈwiʒi] (AN) (combining)

eventive verb: to laugh, sometimes used figuratively to refer to a sudden emotional outburst or a burst of action

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Re: Lexember 2014

Post by Cedh »

Lexember 5th in Hotáá:

dehta (n.) ‘house, home, dwelling’

Hní gırehta.
this_one 1SG.POSS-house
"This is my house."

Cognate to Dánıdoo léeta ‘house’, and possibly distantly related to Omari ireše and Cednìtıt iwethe (both of the latter are verbs with the meaning ‘protect, guard’).

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Re: Lexember 2014

Post by Haloed Bane »

Lexember 6th:

The term for "riddle/puzzle": nyuru.

Rinoma me nyuru. Nas donyurum uth, felam.
Rinom-a me nyuru. Nas do-nyuru-m uth, fel-am.
Life-NMZ COP riddle. COND NEG-riddle-VBZ 3SG, death-VBZ.
‘Life is a riddle, decipher it and you die.’

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Re: Lexember 2014

Post by Daedolon »

Pokartan:

móho [mɔɣo] (n.) "lad, boy, young man"

Ó móhoa úrkópur
PN.2.SG-NOM boy-ACC see-3.SG.ACT.IND.PFV.PST
"He saw the boy"

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