Volapűük nulíik: Difference between revisions

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Revision as of 21:10, 29 January 2019

Volapȕük nulìik
Created by ArmasUkko
Date2018
SettingEarth, year 2018, history dates back about 2500 years
Native speakersca. 10 Mio. (2016)
volapük
  • volapük tsänodik
    • volap'üük nulíik.
      • Volapȕük nulìik
Official status
Official language in
Volapükȁän


Introduction

Real setting

Volapȕük nulíik was a project which came into existence as some kind of a game with morphology and phonetics, especially with Volapük but also Gaeilge and Inuktitut. I have tried to create other conlangs from other constructed languages (e.g. Esperanto), but since the morphology of Volapük involves some degree of complexity, it was easier for me to use elements within the language (particles, case suffixes, prepositions etc.) and combine them in a new way. There is no real purpose or design goal of this language that might become visible, as it does not look that well-built; for instance, there is no special syllable structure designed for euphonic reasons. There are, however, some elements that add a special tone to sound, such as initial sound mutation, which has become a feature of verbal and noun morphology.

Fictional setting

The language is located in the old country of Volapükȁän. The country has been inhabited for more than 5000 years. Written records of the language exist from about 1500 years BC. About 1000 years (1000 AD) ago new settlers arrived at the shores of the northern coast. Those settlers, Irishmen and Inuktituts, found their dwellings and as an ongoing process intermixed with the local population, leaving deep traces in the language. The traces are less visible in the vocabulary but are far moreso in the structure and morphological richness that makes the language a unique mixture of very distinct features. The language continues to be used as a language of official affairs, media, daily conversation, etc., and thus is fully functioning. Due to its special stress patterns, it is not a preferred mean of poets, yet they have developed a style of their own to suit the special requirements of its stress patterns.


Phonology

Orthography

Volapȕük nulíik is written in Latin script with four diacritics (¨ ̏ ´ `). Long vowels are written with two graphemes. Names of persons, places, countries, companies are written with a capital letter.

Consonants

Vowels

Prosody

Stress

Intonation

Phonotactics

Morphophonology

Morphology

The basic morphology of Volapȕük nulíik encompasses only three categories:

-Nouns

-Verbs

-Interjections

Adjectives

Adjectives are predominantly nouns - they have a fixed position within the noun phrase and may function as nouns on their own. However, they may also function as a verb in conjunction with the copula verb "binön":

Binán klotéedat šerlíik.
Bin-á-n klotéed-at šer-líik.
BE-pres.-3.sg.obj. LADYDRESS-demons.near EXPENSIVE-adj.
Šerlikán klotéedat.
Šer-lik-á-n klotéed-at
[EXPENSIVE-adj.]verb.copula-pres.-3.sg.obj. LADYDRESS-demons.near

"This dress is expensive."

The first version is more common among speakers of a lower social status, whereas the second has a more official and literary style. The first version, however, may also be used by people of higher status, especially in situations when someone wants to emphasize that the dress really IS expensive. This is in contrast to languages like German or English, as Volapűük_nulíik expresses emphasis not on the intonational level but on the morphological.

Numerals

Numerals also belong, just like adjectives, predominantly to the category of nouns, but can be used as verbs as well:

Lödáps niđom žönlig giló
Löd-á-p-s ni-đom žön-lig gil-ó
RESIDE-pres.-m./f.pl. IN-HOUSE-abs. BEAUTIFUL-adj.abs. THREE-loc.

"They live in three beautiful houses."

Telđegänáms.
Telđeg-an-á-m-s.
[TWENTY]verb.copula-pers.n-pres.-m.pl.

"We are twenty men."

Nouns

The category of nouns encompasses all words that denote concrete and abstract objects, persons, animals, plants, feelings, and concepts. Noun is the basic category of words, since each adjective, verb, and so on is based on a nominal root and derived from it. Nouns inflect for case, number, and possession and may receive further conjunctive/modal particles

Each noun is built up according to a fixed scheme:

Prefix Stem Determiner Case suffix Number suffix Possessiv suffix Modal particles


Numbers

Nouns inflect for number, meaning they indicate whether a noun appears as a single entity (singular), as a pair/in two (dual), or in more than one entity (plural). Each number has a specific marker:

Singular Dual Plural
Suffixes -ø-/-b- -t-/-d- -s-/-z- (-š-/-ž-)

Since the singular is a category that almost any object, person, animal, idea, or anything else can appear in, it is considered the 'default' category and remains unmarked. This is also true for most natural languages, where there is no explicit suffix denoting a single unit of something. However, there are languages, such as Welsh, which provide a singular suffix for nouns that normally denominate entities that exist in conglomeration, e.g. the trees of a forest coed, where a single tree is derived from the whole via the suffix -en, thus giving coeden 'a tree'. This system does not apply to Volapȕük nulíik. Every noun has the default numerical value 1, and thus is in the singular by default. The second suffix for the singular number is actually a suffix occasionally used, e.g. for poetic purposes or when a speaker wants to stress the singularity of a noun. The dual suffix has a correspondence with the number word for 'two' tel. It can appear in a voiced alternative, which evolved as a result of voiced surrounding consonants. This applies also to the plural marker s, which alternates with z. In personal endings there is also the alternation -š-/-ž- which evolved due to phonological changes.

Cases

Volapȕük nulíik has a complex set of cases. The complexity arises from a set of nine primary cases, which exist independently but can also be combined with a set of prefixes of local, temporal, or abstract function. This combination creates more than seventy different cases, which can not all be named and are not all actually regarded as cases of their own.

The basic cases and their suffixes are:

Case Name Suffix Main function(s)
Nominative serafáal Subject of transitive & intransitive verbs
Vocative vokafáal -ø/-ȍ Form of a noun to call someone/something
Genitive faláak -á(-) Relational case, direct object in negative sentences
Dative faléek -é(-) Receiver of bitransitive verbs, [logical] subject of emotional verbs, locative: origin of movement
Accusative falíik -í(-) Direct object of transitiv verbs
Locative falóok -ó(-) Indicating position in a place, space etc.
Translative falȕük -úu(-)/-ȕ(-) Change of state
Essive falúuk -ú(-) Being in a changeable state
Exlative falwéek -wé(-)/-wȁ(-) Ending of a state

The Northern dialect has retained a tenth case, which has collapsed in other dialects with the dative suffix -é(-), and thus adding its meaning to the dative case:

Case Name Suffix Main function(s)
Nominative serafáal Subject of transitive & intransitive verbs
Vocative vokafáal -ø/-ȍ Form of a noun to call someone/something
Genitive faláak -á(-) Relational case, direct object in negative sentences
Dative faléek -é(-) Receiver of bitransitive verbs, [logical] subject of emotional verbs
Accusative falíik -í(-) Direct object of transitiv verbs
Locative falóok -ó(-) Indicating position in a place, space etc.
Delative falȁäk -ȁ(-) Origin of movement
Translative falȕük -úu(-)/-ȕ(-) Change of state
Essive falúuk -ú(-) Being in a changeable state
Exlative falwéek -wé(-)/-wȁ(-) Ending of a state

The Vocative provides two optional endings: a) a zero-ending, differing from the nominative only in this feature that the beginning of the word appears in its lenited form:

Nominative Historical vocative Modern vocative Meaning
dóom o đóom! đóom! house
táal o dáal! dáal! earth
góod o ghóod! ghóod! god / God
píid o bíid! bíid regret

The particle was traditionally used to express exclamations, e.g. seelȍ! "Quiet!" < seel "being quiet", moȍ! "Get out of here!" < mo "away". This usage has extended towards nouns and names of persons: Kal ("Charles") > Kalȍ!, Floor ("flower") > Floorȍ!, etc.

In the Northern dialect this principle has remained to the very day and developed in a manner that adding the suffix showed the person addressed a form of respect. Addressing a "normal" person was gradually done by simply using the nominative form. However, about two hundred years ago, the people speaking the northern dialect started to adopt a fashion of using the lenited nominative form as a normal form of address. Therefore, the dialect incorporated both forms, having a "normal" vocative form and a "special" vocative form, showing extra respect to the person addressed.:

Vocative Usage Meaning intended
o Gal! Most dialects normal form of adressing someone
Kal! Northern dialect normal form of adressing someone; other dialects: harsh adressing
Kalȍ! Northern dialect respectful manner of adressing someone

The further development spread the -suffix to other dialects and within about 50 years the usage as a marker of respect evolved. Therefore, the language today has two forms of marking the vocative case: a) using the lenited nominative stem b) adding the suffix -ȍ to show more respect to the person addressed.


Prefixes

The category Prefix encompasses a wide range of lexical elements that have two things in common:

a) all of them were prepositions and became attached to the stem at some point in the history of the language.

b) they change the beginning of the noun they are attached to by a process called lenition. This process is explained in detail in the section morphophonological processes.

c) they do occur alone but are always combined with a specific case suffix. In some cases a single prefix may be combined with more than one case suffix and thus giving a specific, different meaning with each case suffix.


Local prefixes

These prefixes indicate spatial relations. In most natlangs and conlangs these relations are expressed via separate words. In Volapȕük nulíik this used to be done as well. However, about two thousand years ago, speakers started combining adverbs with prepositions, e.g. in domó 'at the house' > indomó. These new expressions were very quickly recognized and analyzed as complete words and only about 100 years after the first appearance of such constructions were they written with the initial syllabic structure CV-, including a change of the initial consonant: niddomó ( dd representing a dental fricative [ð]).

Most of these prefixes kept the phonetic structure they had as prepositions.

Since these prefixes inherit a local meaning they are combined with the locative case. They do this if they mean a place or a location where an action takes place. When they indicate the aim of a movement, they are combined - as e. g. in German or many Slavic languages with the accusative case. The third option is different depending on the style of language used. For indicating the origin of a movement, the Northern dialect employs the delative case (expressed by the suffix -ȁ-), the other dialects and the standard language use the dative case (-é-) instead.

This table givs an overview of the local prefixes and their meaning:

Suffix Name Meaning Case combined (case in other languages) Example Translation
ni- nivalóok inside of locative (inessive) niđomó in the house
ni- nivalíik into sth. accusative (illative) niđomí into the house
ni- nivaléek out of sth. dative/delative (elative) niđomé / niđomȁ out of the house
fo- fovalóok in front of locative (?) fođomó in front of the house
fo- fovalíik into the front of accusative (?) fođomí into the front of the house
fo- fovaléek from the front of dative/delative (?) fođomé / fođomȁ from the front of the house
po- povalóok behind locative (?) pođomó behind the house
po- povalíik into the backside of accusative (?) pođomí into the backside of the house
po- povaléek from the backside of dative/delative (?) pođomé / pođomȁ from the backside of the house
di- divalóok under locative (?) diđomó under the house
di- divalíik into the underside of accusative (?) diđomí into the underside of the house
di- divaléek from the underside of dative/delative (?) diđomé / diđomȁ from the underside of the house
lü- lüvalóok the direction of locative (?) lüđomó in the direction of the house (place)
lü- lüvalíik into the front of accusative (?) lüđomí in the direction of the house (movement)
lü- lüvaléek from the direction of dative/delative (?) lüđomé / lüđomȁ from the direction of the house
lo- lovalóok above locative (?) lođomó above the house
lo- lovalíik into the space above of accusative (?) lođomí above the house (movement)
lo- lovaléek from the space above of dative/delative (?) lođomé / lođomȁ from the space above of the house
su- suvalóok on locative (?) suđomó on the house
su- suvalíik onto accusative (?) suđomí onto the house
su- suvaléek from the upside of dative/delative (?) suđomé / suđomȁ from the upside of the house
be- bevalóok between locative (?) beđomót between the two houses
be- bevalíik in between accusative (?) beđomít in between the two houses (movement)
be- bevaléek from in between of dative/delative (?) beđomét / beđomȁt from in between of the two houses
da- davalóok through locative (?) dađomó through the two houses (place)
da- davalíik through sth. accusative (?) dađomí through the house (aim)
da- davaléek from through of dative/delative (?) dađomé / dađomȁ from in through the house (origin)
le- levalóok into the space at locative (?) lođomó into the space at the house
le- levalíik from the space at sth. accusative (?) lođomí from the space at the house (movement)
le- levaléek from at dative/delative (?) lođomé / lođomȁ from at the house
mu- muvalóok next to locative (?) muđomó next to the house
mu- muvalíik into the space next of accusative (?) muđomí next to the house (movement)
mu- muvaléek from the space next of dative/delative (?) muđomé / muđomȁ from the space next of the house
ta- tavalóok against [local] locative (?) tađomó against the house
ta- tavalíik against [movement] accusative (?) tađomí against the house (movement)
ta- tavaléek from the space against of dative/delative (?) tađomé / tađomȁ from the space against of the house
plö- plövalóok outside of [local] locative (?) plöđomó outside of the house
plö- plövalíik outside of [movement] accusative (?) plöđomí into the space outside of the house
plö- plövaléek from the space outside of dative/delative (?) plöđomé / plöđomȁ from the space outside of the house
nü- nüvalóok inside of [local] locative (?) nüđomó inside of the house
nü- nüvalíik inside of [movement] accusative (?) nüđomí into the space inside of the house
nü- nüvaléek from the space inside of dative/delative (?) nüđomé / nüđomȁ from the space inside of the house
de- devaléek from [loc.] dative (ablative) deđomé from the house
šü- šüvalíik until accusative (terminative) šüđomí up to the house


Temporal prefixes

The second large group of prefixes is the group of temporal prefixes, which indicate information on time. Due to their specific meaning they occur normally only in time-related words and expressions. They have in common that they combine only with the essive case suffix. As an example the noun déel "day" will be used, except for dü- which is only used with a specific point of time.

Suffix Name Meaning Case combined (case in other languages) Example Translation
nö- növalúuk at / in / on [temporal] essive (?) nöđelú on a day
bü- büvalúuk before essive (?) büđelú before the day
po- povalúuk after [temp.] essive (?) pođelú after the day
de- devalúuk from [temp.] essive (ablative) deđelú from the day on
du- duvalúuk during essive (?) duđelú during the day (as a period of 24 hours)
šü- šüvalúuk to / until essiv (?) šüđelú to the day
dü- düvalúuk at ... o'clock essive (?) düdegú at ten o'clock
plö- plövalúuk outside of essive (?) plöwobú outside of working hours
tü- tüvalúuk within [temp.] essive (?) tüđelút within two days
si- sivalúuk since [point of time] essive (?) siđelatú since this day
fo- fovalúuk for [space of time] essive (?) fođelút for two days
tö-/te- tövalúuk/tevalúuk in ... time essive (?) töwekú/tewekú in one week


Modal prefixes

Another category are modal prefixes. This prefixes transfer a variety of meanings, e. g. the mean by which something is done or the medium via something has been transmitted. Therefore, their case suffixes vary and

Suffix Name Meaning Case combined (case in other languages) Example Translation
fa- favalúuk through sth. [abstract] essive (mediative?) fawüretodú, favlenú through the internet, through a friend
me- mevalúuk with sth. [instrument] essive (instrumental) menneefú with a knife
ko- kovalúuk with s.o. [comitative] essive (comitative) kovlenú with a friend
sä- sävalúuk as if / like essive (comparative?) sämmotú, sännaanú as a mother [standard, northern dialect]
sa- savalúuk as (same quality) essive (comparative) sammotú, savlenúba as my friend (the same height, the same weight)
ka- kavaléek than [comparison] dative (comparative) kavlenéba than my friend
ko- kovaléek because of [circumstance] dative (circumstantial causative kovlenúba because of my friend being there (no direct causation)
bi- bivaléek because of [causation] dative (direct causative effect) bizdoné because of the stone (the stone fell and the vase broke)
ma- mavalúuk according to [oral citation] essive (quotative) mawödúfes/mawödúfäs according to her words (the words she said, according to her opinion)
ba- bavalúuk according to [written text] essive (quotative) ballonú according to the law (as it is written)
ta- tavulúuk against (abstract) essive (?) binön tagrigú to be against war
pro- provalúuk for, in favour of essive (?) binön prollon nulikú to be for / in favour of the new law
dö- dövalúuk about [sth., a theme] essive (?) dödzarús buk a book about the Tsars


The two cases used for quotation are used for different quotation purposes. Mavalúuk indicates an oral citation, something that is said and not recorded, something from the memory, a citation of an oppinion. Bavalúuk on the other hand quotes texts, written sources or natural laws, in general things that are fixed in stone, on paper and not an opinion. If there is an opinion written down on a paper, mavalúuk is used instead.


Negative preffixes


Negative prefixes encompass meanings of negativity and exclusion. They combine exclusively with the genitive suffix, which is also used in verbal structures to mark a direct object in a negative statement or question.

Suffix Name Meaning Case combined (case in other languages) Example Translation
ne- nevaláak without genitive (abessive) nevlená without a friend
plä- plävaláak except for genitive (privitative) plävlenába except for my friend
da- davaláak of sth. genitive (partitive) davlená a friend/no friend (usage cf. partitive in Basque and Finnish in neg. sentences)

Negation is normally marked on the verb (by the prefix no-), however sometimes also a noun or a whole noun phrase needs to be negated, e.g. "I am not searching for peace, not for clarity, not for freedom, but for war, for misconception, for slavery." In this case, the negation can also be expressed on a noun or a noun phrase. The noun/noun phrase remains as it is in a positive statement, however the prefix "no-" is added [no lenition is applied] and at the end of the noun/the noun phrase the suffix -k is added, to mark the end of the negation. Since negation accourse very often of direct objects, the following case is genitive, but in general any other case could be used. As an example the phrase will be used:

"I am not searching for peace, not for clarity, not for freedom, but for war, for misconception, for slavery."

"Zukkában püdá, nokleeliká, nolibiká, sukkábintà krigí, pölsuemí, slafí."

Zukk-á-b-a-n püd-á no-kleel-i-k-á no-lib-i-k-á suk-k-á-b-i-n-tà krig-í pöl-suem-í slaf-í.
LOOK FORneg.-pres.-1.sg.-gen.-3.sg.obj. PEACE-gen. neg.-CLARITY-acc.-nominalizer-gen. neg.-FREEDOM-acc.-nominalizer-gen. LOOK FOR-pres.-1.sg.-acc.-3.sg.obj.-in contrast WAR-acc. ERROR-UNDERSTANDING-acc. SLAVERY-acc.

Determiners

Determiners are used to specify a noun. In Volapȕük nulíik they follow the noun immidiately but in contrast to derivational suffixes they do never take the stress of the word which reminds before or after the determiner.

Suffix Etymology Meaning Example Person Translation Place Translation
-ak ak < *at this dóomak "this house" pösóodak this one / this man tóopak this place / the place here
-ek ek < *et that dóomek "that house" pösóodek that one / that man tóopek that place / the place there
-al al < *al, alik every dóomal "every house" pösóodal every person / everyone tóopal every place, everywhere
-Cal Cal < *val, valik all dóommal "all houses" (coll. dóommals) pösóoddal all people, everyone tóoppal all the places
-an an < *anik some dóoman "some house(s)" (coll. dóomans) pösóoddan some persons / people tóopan some places
-on on < *no no dóomon "no house" pösóodon no one / nobody tóopon no place, nowhere
-em em < *seimik any dóomem "any house" pösóodem any person, anyone tóopem any place, anywhere
-om om < *somik such dóomom "such a house" pösóodom such a person tóopom such a place
-ot ot < *ot same dóomot "the same house" pösóodot the same person tóopot the same place

Personal pronouns

Since verbs and nouns contain all personal related information, personal pronouns do occur quite rarely on their own. One situation they are used is when a speaker wants to give another person / other persons the chance to say somehting.

The basis of every personal pronoun is the personal suffix that is added as the possessive stem to nouns.


Posession

The category of possession is build up the same way as the personal suffixes for verbs. So, the category features three numbers (singular, dual and plural) and three persons: speaker, person addressed and a third person. The third person itself divides itself into the main categories animated and inanimated, dividing the first category into three other subcategories, masculine, feminine and a neutral person. This neutral person is either used to indicate a person of unknown gender / sex or is used to refer to person who do not identify themselves as masculine or feminine. From a etymological perspective this suffix arose from a mixture of the masculine /-m/ and feminine suffix /-f/ giving a preform *-mf which later developped into *-mp and finally losing the nasal part giving -p as a fully productive personal suffix which can be combined with various other persons.


Basic suffixes of the possessive suffixes
category suffix
singular Ø
dual -t
plural -s
1. person -b
2. person formal -r
informal -l
3.person animate masculine -m
feminine -f
neutral -p < *mp < *mf
inanimate object -n


Overview of possessive suffixes [standard language]
Singular Dual Plural
Dual +1 Plural + 1 Plural + 2 Plural + 3+
1. Person general -b- -bd- / -dd- [bd < *bt] -bz- / -zz-
inclusive informal -lb- -dmV- / -dvV- / -dbV- [d < *bd] -lbz-
formal -rb- -dmV- / -dvV- / -dbV- [d < *bd] -rbz-
exclusive masculine -mb- < -m- + -b- -mbz- -mdž- < *mtbž -zb- < *msb
feminine -vb- < -f- + -b- -vbz- -vdž- < *ftbž -sb- < *fsb
neutral -bb- < -p + -b- -bbz- -bdž- < *ptbž -sp- < *sp
2. Person inclusive informal -l- -lt- -lz-
formal -r- -rt- -rz-
exclusive informal masculine -lmV- -lmzV-
feminine -lfV- -lvzV-
neutral -lpV- -lpsV- / -lbzV-
formal masculine -rmV- -rmzV-
feminine -rfV- -rvzV-
neutral -rpV- -rpsV- / -rbzV-
3.Person animate masculine -m- -mt- -mz-
feminine -f- -ft- -fs-
neutral -p- -pt- -ps-
inanimate -n- -nt- -nz-


A general formular for composing the suffixes cannot be given, hower there some tendency visible:

1. The speaker / person addressed appears first and gives the first element of complex suffixes.

2. The plural / dual suffix is the last to be attached.

3. The plural suffix is voiced when possible

4. The dual suffix is almost never voiced, except /b_

5. Additional persons are placed in between.

6. An exception to this rule are the first person plural + 1 suffixes which indicate a group of people (we)with another single person. Here the extra person is mentioned first hand and the 'group'-suffix is rendered afterwards. This difference in ordering is due to phonotactic rules that prohibit the following of a sibilant by another sibilant, nasal or plosive sound.

7. Inanimate objects are never combined with animate suffixes.


Overview of possessive suffixes [colloquial language]
Singular Dual Plural
Dual +1 Plural + 1 Plural + 2 Plural + 3+
1. Person general -b- -dd- / -d- -z- / -ž- (-bž-)
inclusive informal -lb- -dmV- / -dvV- / -dbV- [d < *bd] -lž- / -lbž-
formal -rb- -dmV- / -dvV- / -dbV- [d < *bd] -rž- / -rbž-
exclusive masculine -mb- < -m- + -b- -mž- -mdž- < *mtbž -zb- < *msb
feminine -vb- < -f- + -b- -vž- -vdž- < *ftbž -sb- < *fsb
neutral -bb- < -p + -b- -bž- -bdž- < *ptbž -sp- < *sp
2. Person inclusive informal -l- -lt- -lš-
formal -r- -rt- -rš-
exclusive informal masculine -lmV- -lmšV-
feminine -lfV- -lfšV-
neutral -lpV- -lpšV-
formal masculine -rmV- -rmšV-
feminine -rfV- -rfšV-
neutral -rpV- -rpšV-
3.Person animate masculine -m- -mt- -mš-
feminine -f- -ft- -fš-
neutral -p- -pt- -pš-
inanimate -n- -nt- -nš-

The difference between standard and colloquial language is mainly a difference in the plural suffix (standard: -s- / -z- (rarely -ž-), colloquial: -š- / -ž- (in general after /b/, which falls out)). First persona general forms are even more reduced, very often to just one letter: -b- (singular), -d- (dual), -z- / -ž- (plural). A more formal colloquial language retains the geminated -dd- (dual) and the plural suffix -bž-. The overall number of categories is the same, independently of standard or colloquial language. This indicates that these categories are well established and vastly accepted by the speakers.

Modal particles

These particles do not only appear in nouns but are also used in verbal construction. They encompass different types of lexical particles, e.g. conjunctions, particles of degree and so on. This means the particles in this category have different functions but have one common place to be put into in each noun or noun phrase. Therefore, they are grouped under this term.

suffix meaning example translation
-te only kaf balíte [I take] only one coffee
-ti almost šitsilíti [he hit] almost the girl
-mu extreme fit grandíikmu an extrem big fish
-(g)ee and Petéer Páulee Peter and Paul
-(g)ee ... -(g)ee both ... and ... Petéeree Páulee both Peter and Paul
-(g)uu or Petéer Páuluu Peter or Paul
-(g)uu ... -(g)uu either ... or ... Petéeruu Páuluu either Peter or Paul
-ba maybe, perheps ? ?
-la possibly ? ?
-le completely, the whole; not at all ? ?
-no yet / not yet ? ?
-(g)ii too, also Petéerii Peter, too
-mö much níifmö much snow
-ve very váad koldíikve very cold water

Verbs

Verbs are the core of every sentence in Volapȕük nulíik. A sentence can be made without any noun but may not lack a verb, be it even an adjective used as a verb. This focus on verbal structures is expressed in that way that verbs normally open a sentence, except e. g. for emphasis. Verbs are so important because they bear a lot of information which allow them to function as single-word sentences. Each verb is built up in a strict manner and though a verb can have several suffixes following the stem and giving special information on space, time and point of view, they all follow the very same structure.

Verbal structures encompass the following information based on slots:

Slot I Slot II Slot III Slot IV Slot V Slot VI Slot VII Slot VIII Slot IX Slot X Slot XI
Passiv + tense Modal prefix Motional Stem tense (habitual) Subject (nom.) Object [1.Acc./Gen. 2. Dat. 3.Essive 4. Translative 5. Exlative] Lokative / Temporal Modal particle Subordinated phrase Questions & Moods


Negation

The negative suffix noL- can be inserted before any of the slots I - IV, depending on what element should be negated.


Persons

The category of person is included in every verb, independently if it is the subject, direct or indirect object. Only participles and infinitives can be used without personal suffixes but this happens rarely, e. g. as entrances in dictionaries. The following table gives an overview of the personal suffixes in the standard language. In colloquial speech this endings might change a bit, but the suffixes are the same as the possessive suffixes used for nouns. Therefore, this table will be sufficient for an overview.

Overview of possessive suffixes [standard language]
Singular Dual Plural
Dual +1 Plural + 1 Plural + 2 Plural + 3+
1. Person general -b- -bd- / -dd- [bd < *bt] -bz- / -zz-
inclusive informal -lb- -dmV- / -dvV- / -dbV- [d < *bd] -lbz-
formal -rb- -dmV- / -dvV- / -dbV- [d < *bd] -rbz-
exclusive masculine -mb- < -m- + -b- -mbz- -mdž- < *mtbž -zb- < *msb
feminine -vb- < -f- + -b- -vbz- -vdž- < *ftbž -sb- < *fsb
neutral -bb- < -p + -b- -bbz- -bdž- < *ptbž -sp- < *sp
2. Person inclusive informal -l- -lt- -lz-
formal -r- -rt- -rz-
exclusive informal masculine -lmV- -lmzV-
feminine -lfV- -lvzV-
neutral -lpV- -lpsV- / -lbzV-
formal masculine -rmV- -rmzV-
feminine -rfV- -rvzV-
neutral -rpV- -rpsV- / -rbzV-
3.Person animate masculine -m- -mt- -mz-
feminine -f- -ft- -fs-
neutral -p- -pt- -ps-
inanimate -n- -nt- -nz-


Slot I

This slot is soley used to indicated passive voice. All verbal structures in passive will start with the suffixe p- + a tense vowel that equals the vowel in slot V. This structure is inherited from the proto-language. Without the p-prefix it indicated time back then. However this vowel was moved to Slot V and thus created a "double tense marking" in the passive.


Slot II

This slot is reserved for modal prefixes. All modal prefixes lenite the following consonant.

Modal prefixes
Prefix Etymology Meaning Example
ka- <kan- ability Kabükkábin Volapükin nulikí 'I can speak Volapȕük nulíik.'
mö- <mög- possibility / chance Möbükkáltinot Volapük nulikí. 'You both have here the chance to speak Volapȕük nulíik.'
se- <sev- knowledge (how to) Sebenkábins vödemís. 'I can write texts [I know how to]
vi- <vil- wish / want Vibükkábin Volapük nulikí. 'I want to speak Volapȕük nulíik.'
dä- <däl- be allowed to Däzagválineb konotatí faWolapüg nulikú. 'You may tell me this story in Volapȕük nulíik.'
mü- <müt- must; obligation Müzagválineb konotatí faWolapüg nulikú. 'You must tell me this story in Volapȕük nulíik!'
sö- <söt- should Sözagválineb konotatí faWolapüg nulikú. 'You should tell me this story in Volapȕük nulíik.'
pli- <plid- like Plizagvábinelš konotís faWolapüg nulikú." 'I like to tell you stories in Volapȕük nulíik.'


Subject versus Object


Slot III


Slot IV


Slot V

This slot is reserved for the tense marker and the habitual marker. The vowel in this slot receives the main stress of the verb and is therfore and important unit in every verbal structure. Since this slot has to be filled always, there is actuall no real tenseless verbal structure. However, the present habitual / generic marker serves as an aorist which is also used in laws and other time independent texts and rules.

This table presents them:

Tense marker
marker tense usage habitual version
-a- present present events occuring at the moment, on the day; events that started in the past and continue to the present moment -aa-
-e- perfect events that have occurred in the past and whose results are visible now -ee- (rarely used)
-ä- preterite past events that started and ended in the past; story telling: framework story -ää-
-i- past preterite events that happened in the past prior to another event -ii-
-o- future events that will take later, the next day, in the next year -oo-
-u- future perfect events that will be finished in the past. -uu-


Slot VI


Slot VII


Slot VIII


Slot IX


Slot X


Slot XI



Co-verb suffixes

Supposedly upon Inuktitut influence there has been a development of suffixes which were derived from basic verbs and attached to nouns. When attached to nouns, they lengthen the last consonant of the noun / noun phase and by this are seperated from similar derivational suffixes. These new suffixes turned the whole structure into verbs which can be conjugated the same any other verb can be. These verbs encompass verbs of perception (logön, lilön, smelön), basic human activities (drinön, fidön. Most of the nouns they are attached to function as the object of the action and thus are considered accusative objects. In contrast to accusative objects which are used independently, they do not change the case to genitive in a negated sentence nor do they receive any pronominal conjuncture after the subject phrase.

Examples:


suffix etymology meaning example sentence
-Cet *getön to receive Florretáabeldȍl. flor-RET-á-b-e-l-dȍl 'I receive flowers from you every day.'
-Cid *fidön to eat Nommittidábnèe. no-mit-TID-á-b-nèe 'I never eat meat.'
-Cog *logön to see Dogallogáboknùu. dog-al-LOG-á-b-o-k-nùu 'I am seeing your dog here.
-Cil *lilön to hear Kagatodrennilȁbiktȍd. ka-gat-o-dren-NIL-ȁ-b-i-k-tȍd 'I could hitherto hear your cat weep the whole time.'
-Cem *smelön to smell Pligafonnullemáabii. pli(d)-gaf-o-nul(ik)-LEM-áa-b-ii. 'I always like smelling fresh coffee [new coffee].'
-Cuk *-tuq < Inuktitut to make [food] Plibitsakkukáabeldȍl. pli(d)-bitsak-KUK-áa-b-e-l-dȍl. 'I like making pizza for you every day.'
-Cek *meekön to make [non-food] Tooddekémš. tood-DEK-é-mš. 'The men have made a car.'


Syntax

Constituent order

Noun phrase

Verb phrase

Sentence phrase

Dependent clauses

Example texts

Examples of translations:

"If I had a flower for every time I think of you, I could walk forever in my garden." - Claudia A. Grandi

Translation:

"Florretáabaafì tikábilbalbì, nesimlikánöv gáadba."

Florretáabaafì tikábilbalbì nesimlikánöv gáadba.
Flor-ret-áa-b-aa-fì tik-á-b-i-l-bal-bì ne-sim-lik-á-n-öv gáad-ba.
FLOWER-receive-pres.gen.-1.sg.-always-if THINK-pres.-1.sg.-acc.-2.sg.-one.time-because [neg.-BORDER-adj.]verb.copula-pres.-3.sg.obj.-cond. GARDEN-1.sg.gen.

Literally: "If I always get a flower because I think of you one time, my garden would be endless."


"He who hesitates is lost."

"Tsogáapaabì flotáapaa nivlumedó."

Tsogáapaabì flotáapaa nivlumedó.
Tsog-áa-p-aa-bì flot-áa-p-aa ni-vlumed-ó.
HESITATE-pres.gen.-3.sg.f./m.-always-because FLOAT-pres.gen.-3.sg.f./m.-always IN-RIVER-loc.

Literally: "Since he/she always hesitates he/she always floats in a river."


"I love pizza."

"Pitsakkiddofáab."

Pitsakkiddofáab.
Pitsak-kid-dof-áa-b.
Pitsak-Cid-Cof-áa-b.
PIZZA-eat.v-enjoy.v-pres.gen.-1.sg.

Literally: "I enjoy eating pizza."


"My heart is empty, I feel it."

Translations:

Senäláb vagälikánda láadba. literally: "I feel that my heart is empty." [Very modern styled and more common among younger people]

Vagälikán láadba. Senäláneb. literally: "My heart is empty. It feels to me." [traditional]

Nesenällabán láadba, senäláneb. literally: "My heart is without emotions. It feels to me." [very traditional and stylistically on a high level.]


"Sunlight takes about eight minutes and twenty seconds to reach Earth."

Translation:

"Bináans minúut šölza sekúun telđegee kontagáanadla solalíit talá suzürfatí."

Bin-áa-n-s minúut šöl-za sekúun telđeg-ee kontag-áa-n-ad-la sola-líit tal-á su-zürfat-í
BE-pres.gen.-3.sg.obj.-pl. MINUTE EIGHT-about SECOND TWENTY-and TOUCH-pres.gen.-3.sg.obj.-fin.-subj. SUN-LIGHT EARTH-gen. on-SURFACE-acc.


Greetings


Daily greetings

"Gudikáperös / Gudikápelös Múun." -> Good day. [literally: May the God of time be good to you.]

"Slippudólös / Slippudórös dunneetú." -> Good night. [literally: May you sleep good during the night.]

"Gudikónös déella." -> Good morning. [literally: May your day be good.]

Thankfulness

Showing one's thankfulness is an important value in the society of Volapükáan. Therefore, there is not only one translation for "thank you" but several, depending on the person to thank, the person(s) who receive the thank and finally the circumstances.


1. Circumstances

There are three main verbs which translate as "to thank":


danön - to thank [generally]

danilön - to thank a little [a small favour done]

ledanön - to thank [a big favour done / saving someone's life].


2. Basic structure

The verb "danön" and its derivations all follow the following pattern:

subject - person who says 'thank you'

accusative - thing / action that is thanked for

dative - person who receives the 'thank you'.


3. Persons

The subject is generally a first person, thus a first person suffix will be used. However, since Volapüük nulíik diferentiates very explicitly between singular, dual, plural, exclusive and inclusive forms, there are in total 19 different suffixes which can be placed in this positon.


Birthday wish

Full wish:

"Vipábanel Motedadät läbliká."

Vip-á-b-a-n-e-l Moted-a-dät läb-lik-á
WISH-pres.-1.sg.-gen.-3.sg.obj.-dat.-2.sg.inf. BIRTH-gen.-DATEabs. HAPPINESS-adj.-gen.

Of course, in spoken language the word is very often omitted and thus only "Motedadät läbliká" is used as a with for one's birthday. If a full wish wants to be said, it is important to remember, which person(s) receive the wish. The literal translation motedadéel refers only to the day of birth, so the day when a baby is born. After that a human being (or pet) can only have "motedadȁät".

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