Chlouvānem/Morphology
Chlouvānem is a highly inflected language with a synthetic morphology. Five parts of speech are traditionally distinguished: nouns, verbs, pronouns, numerals, and particles. Throughout the page there will be references to the topics treated in the pages on Chlouvānem syntax, positional and motion verbs, and exterior and interior verbs.
Nouns (halenī)
→ See Lahob languages § Morphology for diachronical tables and comparisons with sister languages.
The Chlouvānem noun (haloe, pl. halenī) is highly inflected - it declines for:
- Three numbers:
- Singular (emibausire smoḍūm)
- Dual (danyausire smoḍūm)
- Plural (tailyausire smoḍūm)
- Twelve cases:
- Direct (daradhūkire dirūnnevya)
- Vocative (halausire dirūnnevya)
- Accusative (dṛṣokire dirūnnevya)
- Ergative (darinūkire dirūnnevya)
- Genitive (cārūkire dirūnnevya)
- Translative (najamarcūkire dirūnnevya)
- Exessive (nenijamarcūkire dirūnnevya)
- Essive (jalausire dirūnnevya)
- Dative (męlyausire dirūnnevya)
- Ablative (tųlunūkire dirūnnevya)
- Locative (yuñcūkire dirūnnevya)
- Instrumental (drausire dirūnnevya)
There are a few nouns which lack number; a few are singularia tantum and lack a plural (e.g. hærūm lips), other ones are plural only - most notably these include all ethnicities (e.g. chlǣvānem, which is also an irregular plural). The singular is made by using the genitive form attributed to lila (person), e.g. chlǣvānumi lila (a Chlouvānem).
Chlouvānem does not have grammatical gender, and there are only a few natural gender terms. There are thirteen different noun declensions, but most of them only have few small differences. Chlouvānem declensions are predictable from the ending of the direct case noun, and they're categorized depending on their endings as s-, m-, or h-nouns[1].
S-nouns - Sasą lā halenī
There are some traits which are common to all nominal declensions: the vocative is only distinct in the singular; in the dual there is also no distinction between translative and dative, essive and locative, and between exessive, ablative, and instrumental. In the plural, the exessive and ablative also share the same form, as do the essive plural and the ergative dual.
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Table notes:
- Mostly toponyms of Toyubeshian origin (e.g. Paramito).
Also note that modern borrowings ending in [s] typically add a further case ending, e.g. Skyrdagor valtasz (nunatak) becomes Chlouvānem valtasas (same meaning), declining as valtasau, valtasu, valtasei...
M- and N-nouns - Mamą naną no lā halenī
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The n-paradigms follow the exact same rules as the corresponding m- ones, with the exception of having the direct plural identical to the singular. All other inflections (including the dual) are the same as the other nouns. Thus e.g. samin may be either child or children, and it is usually the verb that marks the number - compare samin mālchē "the kid runs" and samin mālchāhai "the kids run". They are de facto undistinguishable out of context in forms where singular and plural have the same verb form, e.g. in the perfect - samin amālcha can mean either "the kid has run" or "the kids have run" depending on context. The noun yaltan (the currency of the Chlouvānem Inquisition) has, outside of legal texts, an irregularity in the exessive singular, being yaltat instead of yaltanat (the latter, regular form is used in very formal styles). This shortening arose in one of its most common uses, the exessive case used to state an amount paid, as in e.g. māmei yalta(na)t ulgutaṃte "I bought it for twelve yaltan." |
Table notes:
- Such forms with -jñ- are underlyingly -y-y- (e.g. jāy-y-es → jājñes).
- This stem is the result of regular saṃdhi, i.e. *lilvn- → lilun-.
H-nouns - Hahą lā halenī
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The h-paradigm used by nouns in -ah and -āh is substantially identical to the regular 1-h one, except for the exessive, dative, ablative, locative, and instrumental plural which have -a- instead of -e- as a linking vowel and, for some nouns, the genitive singular (see table note 1). |
Table notes:
- -ya, and -yā nouns form the genitive singular in -ei (e.g. lalyā "night" → lalei). Nouns in -yah, and -yāh, however, have the regular ending (e.g. yamyah "fog" → yamyi).
- All -ǣh nouns are of Lällshag origin, and are mostly toponyms (like Laikunanǣh), with some exceptions like the two lunar days kælyaunænǣh and yeicapænǣh. Note that such nouns have their genitive singular in -ǣyi and not in -ī.
- In older texts -eiva (e.g. javileiva), today only used in literature for an archaïzing effect or to mark a character speaking with a Northern Plain pronunciation (where this form survives in the spoken language).
- Mostly regional Western words of Dabuke origin.
- Non-productive with borrowings, but common in native words.
Special declensions
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The ablaut declension is in the singular (except for the vocative and essive) and dual the same as the 1-h one, including the -ei rule for the genitive singular (e.g. rinya "ceiling", gen.sg. renei), except for the fact that the genitive singular has a middle-grade vowel. The plural has mostly the same endings as the singular but with middle-grade vowels in most forms (genitive, essive, and locative have a higher-grade one). -y- is inserted between the stem and the ending, but not for nouns ending in -ya (rinya → renyē).
The vowel that undergoes ablaut is usually the penultimate (e.g. plušamila "Office of the Inquisition", plural plušamelyē), but in some cases it's the first (e.g. kimeda (a type of panther), plural kemedyē).
Irregular plurals
A few Chlouvānem nouns have irregular plurals:
- The word chlǣvānem itself is plural-only and irregular; direct and vocative are in -em, but all other cases decline as a standard plural 1h noun (e.g. accusative chlǣvānānu, ergative chlǣvānān, genitive chlǣvānumi);
- maila “water” does not have a dual form outside of colloquial use (where mailāt is used with the meaning of “two glasses of water”) and has the irregular plural mailtvąa. It declines as a singular 1h noun, with two exceptions, namely accusative in -ąu instead of expected *-ahu and genitive in -ąi instead of expected *-ahi. This plural form is actually common, used when talking about bodies of water in an area, water layers, glasses of water, and a few minor idiomatic uses (e.g. taili mailtvahe hilælulke, lit. “to arrive by crossing many waters”, meaning “to have had much experience”).
The -tvąa semantic plural is also used for the word damītah when used for "petals" (damītvąa; the meaning of "nails" has the regular plural damītai), and lairē (lairtvąa, which does not mean "skies" but "galaxy"). - resan "pig" and liken "arm" both have irregular plurals with vowel change: ryasan and læcin respectively.
- ås "ford, crossing of a small river" has the stem av- in all pre-vocalic forms (e.g. plural ave).
- švas "animal (including humans)" pluralizes as švai, as if it were a h-noun; all cases except for direct and vocative are however regular.
- There are some pluralia tantum: pārāk “hair”, kāraṇḍhai “guts”, also agṇyaucai “sons and daughters”, aryai "square", katanai "clutter", vailašaus "cutlery", šūlyakāše "dishes", and all ethnonyms.
- Some pluralia tantum are the plural forms of nouns with other (usually related) meanings - when they are used as semantic plurals, they're counted with cardinal numerals (and are singular); when they are used as pluralia tantum, with collective numerals (and are plural). Examples are hamvyenī "nursery" (hamvyoe "cradle"), įsmirte "playground" (įsmirtas "swing"), nacai "clothes" (naca "cloth"), garaṇai "clock, watch" (garaṇa "hour"), lairtvąa "galaxy" (lairē "sky").
- This is often used in poetry, with words like mešanāt "eyes" - dual of mešanah "view". In many set phrases, læcin "arms" is used with the meaning of "work, effort".
- Many toponyms in the Inquisition and a few ones abroad are only ever used in the plural. Island groups are an obvious example, but this also includes descriptive names of dioceses such as Vīdhyašaṇṭrē ("regions of the Vīdhyai"), Samvālšaṇṭrē (lit. "the Western Regions"), and many cities even with originally non-Chlouvānem names such as Kašikanye (episcopal seat of Saṃhayolah), Rīkalīnai (episcopal seat of Dārṭijātia), or Kareñjoklai (episcopal seat of Yūgarthāma).
- Some pluralia tantum are the plural forms of nouns with other (usually related) meanings - when they are used as semantic plurals, they're counted with cardinal numerals (and are singular); when they are used as pluralia tantum, with collective numerals (and are plural). Examples are hamvyenī "nursery" (hamvyoe "cradle"), įsmirte "playground" (įsmirtas "swing"), nacai "clothes" (naca "cloth"), garaṇai "clock, watch" (garaṇa "hour"), lairtvąa "galaxy" (lairē "sky").
- A few nouns are singularia tantum: hærṣūs “lips”, maula “breasts”, kanai “spices”, paɂeh “dust”, nāmvāvi “dust (made by crushing something)”, narmis “ash”, ñailūh “ice”; lāsīm "cereals" (individual terms for cereals may have duals and plurals meaning "two/more varieties of ..."), mæchlišam "leafy greens", mæcichā "spinach", and bågras "legumes" with all types of legumes (dīlla "peas", mahīra "lentils", miltai "soybeans"...)
- Dvandva compounds are usually all dual and pluralizable - like yāṇḍamaišñukivā “genitals”, or also many dyadic kinship terms (e.g. maihāmeināt “daughter and mother”) - but some of them are inherently “singular” and therefore are dual only, like lillamurḍhyāyunyāt (how some philosophical Yunyalīlti currents refer to the yunya “nature” and the lillamurḍhyā “natural harmony” as two aspects of the same thing).
- Toponyms (except inherently dual or plural ones), personal names, and miscellaneous things that are semantically only singular (like many Yunyalīlti concepts, e.g. yunya or lillamurḍhyā) are found exclusively in the singular.
Irregular vocatives
Five very common words have common, irregular, vocative forms:
- ñæltah "(male's) sister" — ñæli or ñæl
- glūkam "(female's) brother" — galū
- meinā "mother" — mā or mē
- bunā "father" — bā or vā
- udhyāras "Comrade" — udhyā (rarely udhyār)
Use of the plural
Chlouvānem sometimes uses the singular in contexts where English uses the plural:
- Nouns are always singular after numerals (except, optionally, dani (two), which they can also be dual after), sora (some), læti (any), gu (no), guviṣam (no other), taili (many, much), nanū (more), kaili (most), and ṣubha (few, little).
- After yaiva, the difference in the noun's number expresses a distinction much like the one between English "every" and "all": yaiva kita "every house", yaiva kitai "all houses".
- When referring to existence or availability of something, that something is always singular, e.g. dvārma læjlęs virā "there are chairs in the room". It may be plural if topicalized, but the overall meaning of the sentence changes - e.g. læjlai mæn dvārma virā "the chairs are in the room".
- When referring to a single person, dhāna (hand), mešīn (eye), and minnūlya (ear), and often also junai (foot) (more rarely for pājya (leg) and liken (arm)) are typically singular and not dual - e.g. nanau mešīp mešute "I see it with my eyes" (lit. "with my eye"). In fact, they might be translated as "a person's hands/eyes/ears", given that dual forms are often used to mean e.g. "both hands of two people" and the plural ones for e.g. "many people's hands".
- junyoe (indoor slippers), rapūda ((thick) shoes), mæska (boots), and all types of shoes are also used in the singular to refer to a pair of them. The main exception is varṇaigīk (straw rope sandals), which is a plurale tantum.
Verbs (daradhaus)
- Main article: Chlouvānem verbs
The Chlouvānem verb (daradhūs, pl. daradhaus) is the most inflected part of speech; its most basic forms are fusional, but many more specific formations are more agglutinative due to their origin from old Proto-Lahob particles or participles.
Pronouns
Chlouvānem has a series of pronouns which are irregular when compared to other nouns, yet they follow a mostly similar pattern among themselves. As with nouns and adjectives, in Chlouvānem there is mostly no difference between possessive and demonstrative pronouns and adjectives. Note that pronouns here are defined as a morphological category, as there are many pronominal locutions or nouns acting as pronouns in the Chlouvānem honorific system, as well as nouns standing for pronouns, both in formal and extremely informal speech.
Standard Chlouvānem as spoken today uses the following morphological pronouns (not including those that follow nominal inflection):
- 1st person lili (sg.), lenak (dual), and mųmā (pl.).
- 2nd person informal sāmi (sg.) and sanak (dual).
- 2nd person formal superior nami (sg.; also used for 2nd plural, both informal and formal generic) and nanak (dual).
- 2nd person formal equal tami (sg.) and tanak (dual).
- 2nd person formal inferior ravi (sg.) and raṇak (dual).
- Reflexive demi (mandatory for 3rd person, commonly used also for 1st and 2nd).
The pronouns doubling as adjectives are:
- The demonstratives, all declining for case; there are 33 different forms depending on distance and position in space; nenē (proximal), nunū (medial), and nanā (distal) being the least marked ones, even though they may imply "ahead" if used to disambiguate from others.
- The possessives, which are also the genitive forms of pronouns: lilyā, ilayā, muṣyā, sāmyā, isayā, namyā, innayā, tamyā, ittayā, ravyā, irayā, demyā, (yanyā).
Among younger speakers in some areas the Jade Coast, most notably in Līlasuṃghāṇa, Taitepamba, and Kūmanabūruh, demonstratives and possessives, when used attributively, are not inflected at all, e.g. lili nanā phēcamu mišau "I saw that cat" instead of standard lili nanau phēcamu mišau.
In addition, yani is an emphatic pronoun not properly part of common speech (demi is used instead) but sometimes found in high style. Archaic Chlouvānem had a demonstrative series consisting of proximal ami, medial uteni, and distal āteni, which declined in use throughout Classical times, when they were replaced by the newer nenē — nunū — nanā forms.
ami is still used regionally around the mid-course of the Nīmbaṇḍhāra (an area in the Central Plain: roughly the whole of the diocese of Raharjaiṭa, most of Jolenītra, Daikatorāma, Vādhātorama, and Namapleta, and parts of Mūrajātana, Perelkaša, Ryogiñjaiṭa and far northern Sendakārva) where it has been repurposed as a definiteness marker for non-triggered arguments - Standard Chlouvānem usually topicalizes the argument or uses nanā, or, colloquially, leaves it unmarked and only understandable by context; cf. "the tiger is seen by the wolf":
- (Standard): ēmīla nanye bāḍhmānæ mešē, or bāḍhmān mæn ēmīla mēšē, or ēmīla bāḍhmānæ mēšē.
- (Mid-Nīmbaṇḍhāri): ēmīla amye bāḍhmānæ mešē.
As mentioned before, Chlouvānem does not distinguish singular formal superior and plural "you", having the single pronoun nami for both. Unlike the similar situation in English, Chlouvānem still differentiates them by marking number on the verb, so for example "you (sg) work" is nami pūni, and "you (pl) work" is nami pūnašin. Originally, nami was only the 2nd person singular feminine pronoun (as shown by its cognates in other Lahob languages); in Archaic Chlouvānem the original plural pronoun nagin is attested, but we lack attestations of any form except the direct and the genitive (nagyā).
Personal pronouns
| Direct | Accusative | Ergative | Genitive | Translative | Exessive | Essive | Dative | Ablative | Locative | Instrumental | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | 1st person | lili | lū | lę | lilyā | lan | lat | lįs | lum | ląu | lēn | laip | ||
| 2nd person | Informal | sāmi | sū | sę | sāmyā | sān | sāt | sįs | som | sąu | sēn | saip | ||
| Form. sup. | nami | nū | nę | namyā | nan | nat | nįs | num | nąu | nēn | naip | |||
| Form. equal | tami | tū | tę | tamyā | tan | tat | tįs | tum | tąu | tēn | taip | |||
| Form. inf. | ravi | rū | rę | ravyā | ran | rat | rįs | rum | rąu | rēn | raip | |||
| Reflexive pronoun | demi | diyū | ję | demyā | jen | jet | jįs | jum | jąu | jēn | jaip | |||
| Dual | 1st person | lenak | ilo | ilahę | ilayā | ilān | ilāt | ilęs | ilām | iląu | ilæn | ilaip | ||
| 2nd person | Informal | sanak | iso | isahę | isayā | isān | isāt | isęs | isām | isąu | isæn | isaip | ||
| Form. sup. | nanak | inno | innahę | innayā | innān | innāt | innęs | innām | innąu | innæn | innaip | |||
| Form. equal | tanak | itto | ittahę | ittayā | ittān | ittāt | ittęs | ittām | ittąu | ittæn | ittaip | |||
| Form. inf. | raṇak | iro | irahę | irayā | irān | irāt | iręs | irām | irąu | iræn | iraip | |||
| Plural | 1st person | mųmā | mųu | muhę | muṣyā | mųn | mųt | muhįs | mųum | muhąu | muhēn | muhaip | ||
| 2nd person | Informal | nami | nū | nę | namyā | nan | nat | nįs | num | nąu | nēn | naip | ||
| Emphatic pronoun (archaic) | yani | yū | yę | yanyā | yan | yat | yįs | yum | yąu | yēn | yaip | |||
yavyāta (though often replaced by nami) and yakaliyātam are used as formal second person plural pronouns; they are however nouns and decline as such (as singular 1-h and 1-m declension respectively, but they take plural verbs and adjectives). Various other nouns may be used as second- or third-person pronouns depending on the situation; see the following section on honorifics for a list of them and their usage.
Use of possessives
Possessive adjectives are always used if they refer to an explicit topic, and in most cases (except those listed below) if the topic is only marked by the voice, e.g.:
- lilyā glūkam mæn māminęltende liven - my brother is in his 1412-th year (= is fifteen years old).
- ūnikire namyā cūlla viṣam ūnime vi - your red car is on the other road.
The voice-marked topic usually does not have a possessive if it belongs to a first- or second-person agent which is explicitely marked. Particularly, the words meinā (mother) and bunā (father) are almost always possessive-less. e.g.:
- ñæltah laitenælire purṣīnaviṣyu lę emęlyosi - It is my sister I gave that wonderful poetry book to. — note how it is simply ñæltah and not lilyā ñæltah because of the presence of the ergative pronoun lę.
If the sentence is focussed on a verb-marked (i.e. with a dropped pronoun) agent, it is more common to use the possessive. In many colloquial varieties of Chlouvānem, there is a developing distinction between using the reflexive and the 1st- or 2nd- person forms, where the reflexive is more commonly (but still not exclusively!) used for alienable possession and the other for inalienable possession. Thus, "my sister" is more commonly lilyā ñæltah, while "my book" is more commonly demyā naviṣya, at least in a sentence with a first person focus. The above example would become lilyåh ñæltom laitenælire purṣīnaviṣyu emęlyaṃte; one could also stress the fact it's their own book and thus say lilyåh ñæltom laitenælire demyau purṣīnaviṣyu emęlyaṃte.
Still, even in this case, "mother" and "father" would still lack a possessive, as referring to someone else's mother or father would anyway need the honorific words nāḍima and tāmvāram respectively, instead of meinā and bunā.
In the third person, especially plural, demyā may be used without an explicit subject, i.e. demyau kitu āntedarāhai "they are building their own home".
Correlatives
Chlouvānem has a fairly regular system of correlatives, distinguishing ten types (proximal, medial, distal, interrogative, negative, assertive existential, elective existential, universal, positive alternative, and negative alternative) in eleven categories (attributive, thing, person, time, place, destination, origin, way, reason, quality, quantity).
| Category ↓ / Type → | Proximal | Medial | Distal | Interrogative | Negative | Ass. exist. | Elect. exist. | Universal | Positive altern. | Negative altern. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attributive | nenē (and others; see below) this (one) |
nunū (and others; see below) that (one) (near you) |
nanā (and others; see below) that (one) (over there) |
yanū? what?, which (one) ? |
gu no |
sora some |
læti any |
yaiva every(thing) |
viṣam another, other |
guviṣam no other |
| Thing | gvami nothing |
sorami something |
lætyami anything |
viṣāmi something else |
guviṣāmi nothing else | |||||
| Person | ·evita this one |
·utvita that one (near you) |
·ātvita that one (over there) |
yavita? who? |
guvita no one |
soraita someone |
lævita anyone |
yaivita everyone |
viṣvita someone else |
guviṣvita no one else |
| Time | emiya now |
utiya then |
ātiya then (remote) |
yamiya? when? |
gumiya never |
soramiya sometime, somewhen |
lætmiya anytime, whenever |
yaivmiya always, everytime |
viṣmiya sometime else |
guviṣmiya never else |
| Place | ·ejulā here |
·uñjulā there |
·āñjulā over there |
yajulā? where? |
gujulā nowhere |
sorajulā somewhere |
læjulā anywhere |
yavijulā everywhere |
viñjulā elsewhere |
guviñjulā nowhere else |
| Destination | ·ejulyom hither |
·uñjulyom thither |
·āñjulyom thither (remote) |
yajulyom? whither? |
gujulyom nowhither |
sorajulyom somewhither |
læjulyom anywhither |
yavijulyom everywhither |
viñjulyom elsewhither |
guviñjulyom nowhither else |
| Source | ·ejulųu hence |
·uñjulųu thence |
·āñjulųu thence (remote) |
yajulųu? whence? |
gujulųu nowhence |
sorajulųu somewhence |
læjulųu anywhence |
yavijulųu everywhence |
viñjulųu elsewhence |
guviñjulųu nowhence else |
| Manner | elīce thus, hereby |
ūlīce thereby |
ālīce thereby; that other way |
yalīce? how? |
gulīce no way |
soralīce somehow |
lælīce anyhow |
yaivlīce everyway |
viṣlīce otherwise |
guviṣlīce no other way |
| Reason | emena herefore |
utmena therefore |
ātmena therefore; for that other reason |
yamenat? why? |
gumena for no reason |
soramena somewhy |
lætmena whyever, for any reason |
yaivmena for every reason |
viṣmena for another reason |
guviṣmena for no other reason |
| Quality | esmā this kind |
utsmā that kind |
ātsmā that other kind |
yasmāt? which kind? |
gusmā no kind |
sorasmā some kind |
læsmā any kind |
yavismā every kind |
viṣasmā another kind |
guviṣasmā no other kind |
| Quantity | enūḍa this much |
utnūḍa that much |
ātnūḍa that much (remote) |
yanūḍat? how much? |
gunūḍa none |
soraṇūḍa some of it |
lætnūḍa any much |
yaivnūḍa all of it |
viṣṇūḍa another quantity |
guviṣṇūḍa no other quantity |
Note that in common speach ālīce and ūlīce as well as ātmena and utmena are basically interchangeable. The QUALITY correlatives may take an essive argument, e.g. lajlęs læsmā "any kind of chair".
THING and PERSON correlatives decline for case and, in the case of evita, utvita, and ātvita, also for number (1h declension: evita, acc. sg. evitu, dir. pl. evitai, dat. pl. evitesām…). QUALITY and QUANTITY correlatives also decline for case.
Not to be confused with their literal English translations are yaivemibe (or yaiva emibe) "each, every" (literally "everyone") - which is most often attributive only in Chlouvānem - and especially sora emibe, literally "someone", which has a completely different meaning: sora emibe denotes "some single subjects, considered as single entities, hence inherently plural and taking plural verbs: sora emibe draikate "some single subjects did it" ≠ soraita dṛkte "someone did it".
Negatives, elective existentials, universals, and positive alternatives for thing and person correlatives may also take dual number:
- gvamīt～guvitāt "neither";
- lætyamīt～lævitāt "either";
- yaivāt～yaivitāt "both";
- viṣāmāt～viṣvitāt "the other one".
Further correlatives not included in the above table:
- yambā? (whose?)
- smāmi (such a...) (archaic, literary)
Positional demonstratives
Chlouvānem has a large number of demonstratives, as they are integrated with the system of positional verbs, combining a general proximal-medial-distal distinction with positional prefixes, further localizing them in space. Only a subset of 10 out of the 24 positional prefixes are used to build demonstratives; the ones with a ∅- prefix correspond to most of the unused ones, and may be translated as "this/that one in front/ahead/in the middle" when a disambiguation from another one is needed. The same ten prefixes (except for įs-) are also used together with the PERSON series (with the same logic), and with the PLACE, DESTINATION, and SOURCE correlatives, which act as adverbial anaphoras of positional and motion verbs. This results in forms like kamyejulā "here, around" or māhāñjulyom "thither (remote), rightwards".
| Prefix ↓ / Type → | Proximal | Medial | Distal |
|---|---|---|---|
| ∅- (ahead) | nenē this one ahead |
nunū that one (near you) ahead |
nanā that one ahead |
| ān- (above) | āninē this one above |
ānnū that one (near you) above |
ānnā that one above |
| šu- (below) | šunē this one below |
šūnū that one (near you) below |
šonā that one below |
| įs- (hanging) | įsinē this one hanging |
įsunū that one (near you) hanging |
įsanā that one hanging |
| na(ñ)- (inside) | najinē this one inside |
najunū that one (near you) inside |
najanā that one inside |
| kau- (outside) | kaunē this one outside |
kaunū that one (near you) outside |
kaunā that one outside |
| kami- (around) | kaminē this one around |
kamyunū that one (near you) around |
kamyanā that one around |
| pri- (behind) | prinē this one behind |
prinū that one (near you) behind |
prinā that one behind |
| vai- (beside; in the corner) (sāṭ- for the main meaning) |
vainē this one beside |
vayunū that one (near you) beside |
vayanā that one beside |
| vyā- (left) | vyāɂinē this one to the left |
vyāɂunū that one (near you) to the left |
vyāɂanā that one to the left |
| māha- (right) | māhenē this one to the right |
māhonū that one (near you) to the right |
māhānā that one to the right |
The įs- forms may also be used for things lying on people's hands.
The forms for the PERSON, PLACE, DESTINATION, and SOURCE series are mostly formed through regular saṃdhi (with the partial exception of the na(ñ)- and vyā- prefixes):
| Prefix ↓ / Base → | ·evita ·ejulā ·ejulyom ·ejulųu |
·utvita ·uñjulā ·uñjulyom ·uñjulųu |
·ātvita ·āñjulā ·āñjulyom ·āñjulųu |
|---|---|---|---|
| ∅- (ahead) | evita | utvita | ātvita |
| ān- (above) | ānevita | ānutvita | ānātvita |
| šu- (below) | švevita | šūtvita | švātvita |
| na(ñ)- (inside) | naivita | notvita | nātvita |
| kau- (outside) | kāvevita | kāvutvita | kāvātvita |
| kami- (around) | kamyevitai | kamyutvitai | kamyātvitai |
| pri- (behind) | pryevita | pryutvita | pryātvita |
| vai- (beside, in the corner) | vāyevita | vāyutvita | vāyātvita |
| vyā- (left) | vyāɂevita | vyāɂutvita | vyāɂātvita |
| māha- (right) | māhaivita | māhotvita | māhātvita |
Note that, in the PERSON series, the kami- forms are only used with a plural meaning, as reflected in the table above.
Declensions of correlatives and possessives
| Case | ā-paradigm | ē-paradigm | ū-paradigm | t-paradigm |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All possessives, nanā and other distals, yambā?, ami, correlatives in -i[2] |
nenē and other proximals | nunū, and other medials, yanū? | yasmāt? and yanūḍat? | |
| Direct Vocative |
lilyā | nenē | nunū | yasmāt |
| Accusative | lilyau | nenyu | nunūyu | yasmau |
| Ergative | lilye | nenye | nunūye | yasmātei |
| Genitive | lilyai | neniai | nunūyai | yasmai |
| Translative | lilyān | nenēn | nunūn | yasmān |
| Exessive | lilyāt | nenēt | nunūt | yasmātat |
| Essive | lilyąa | nenęe | nunųu | yasmātą |
| Dative | lilyåh | nenǣh | nunǣh | yasmātom |
| Ablative | lilyąu | nenēhu | nunūvu | yasmąu |
| Locative | lilǣ | neniǣ | nunūvǣ | yasmātǣ |
| Instrumental | lileni | nenēni | nunauni | yasmaini |
Honorifics
Honorific pronouns
Second person
The rules for second person pronouns are mostly fairly easy. There are usually two contexts: formal and informal.
Formal pronouns are three and (in contemporary Chlouvānem) invariable for gender, but they vary for relative rank instead: nami is used towards a superior, tami towards one of the same rank, and ravi towards a lower ranked person (until around 6350, nani was strictly feminine and ravi strictly masculine, and the rules for all three varied also according to the relative genders). nanak, tanak, and raṇak are their respective dual forms.
Plural second person pronouns are usually two: yakaliyātam is used towards the representative of a specifically defined group - an institution or a company -, while yavyāta (but also, in not extremely formal styles, nami) is used for less defined groups.
There are, however, more formal second-person pronouns with a limited use. All of these (here listed in Latin alphabetical order), unless noted, are morphologically nouns, but they are used with second person verbs anyway:
- aveṣyotariri nami (locution with the pronoun nami) is sometimes used towards the highest ranked non-religious superiors, if they are several ranks ahead: examples include commanders of a military brigade or presidents of a company. However, nami is in most cases respectful enough; it is however invariably used in the set phrase lālyu nanyau aveṣyotariri yaccechlašute nami "I humbly ask for your forgiveness".
- gopūrṭham is often used towards public/religious and military officials.
- gopūrṭhami brausa (or yobrausa) are used for the highest ranked Inquisitors, bishops, head monks, and the Baptist.
- lalla yobrausa is used exclusively for the Great Inquisitor.
- ṣari, nowadays mostly old-fashioned, was used by guests towards homeowners and also by soldiers towards their superiors. It also meant, aside from being a pronoun, "landowner" or "head of a non-religious state"; in contemporary Chlouvānem it mostly only survives as a vocative expression towards homeowners when used by guests[3].
- ūttuka is today only used in parts of the Northeast (aside by fictional characters in historical settings), but until about 6300 was a common pronoun word used by servants towards their superiors, particularly landowners (it thus partially overlapped with ṣari).
- yobrausa — see gopūrṭhami brausa above.
It is also important to note that it's increasingly common to simply use the vocative formula - given name plus lāma - instead of any pronoun in formal context: when speaking to a superior named Lārtāvi Vaihātiai Lælithiam, in order to say a sentence like "have you already done (it)?", nami nanau dadrāste nāṭ dām? and lælicham lāma nanau dadrāste nāṭ dām? are both just as correct. The pronoun forms are more commonly used in other cases, particularly in the genitive.
Note that lāma itself does NOT decline: only the noun does – e.g. lælichamom lāma lę emęlya "it has been given by me to you/Mr. Lælithiam".
In informal contexts, the only basic morphological second-person pronoun is sāmi, which has the dual form sanak and uses nami as the plural form (with plural agreement on verbs). However, there may be even more informal contexts where other nouns may be used: the prototypical example is among siblings, where blikā (dual blikāt, plural blikai), an endearing term for girls (think of Japanese -chan or -tan) is used as a pronoun for and among sisters — e.g. blikā meyom umuṣeste tane[4]? meaning "did you ask mum or not?"; as for all nouns standing for pronouns, this is not a vocative expression as it declines for case - e.g. blikom emęliaṃte nāṭ! "I've already given it to you!"; other such pro-nouns used among siblings are lorkhās (for and among brothers; literally "guy", can be rude outside this context), nājhali (non-binary equivalent to "girl" and "boy" — somewhat rarer as even in general use it's a more neutral term than either blikā or lorkhās), and even samin (literally "kid"). Informal names are also sometimes used instead of pronouns among siblings, and they're more often than not used that way among close friends and kaleyai[5].
Third person
In Chlouvānem, the third person pronouns – which are the demonstrative sets, most commonly the distal nanā - eṣanā - ānnā – are not used for people; the name of the person referred to with the appropriate honorific title is used instead.
Repetition of names is usually not considered strange in Chlouvānem, but there are a few ways to avoid excessive repetition. The most natural one is obviously to state the person once at the beginning as the topic and then have all following verbs agree with it through the trigger system.
All titles listed in the following section may be freely used with and without names. Furthermore, it is common in not excessively formal speech to use nāḍima (honorific word for "mother") for all female older relatives - of previous generations, not older siblings - of the interlocutor and similarly tamvāram (honorific for "father") for male older relatives.
Especially in contemporary Chlouvānem, the rank-neutral udhyāras (cf. "Comrade") is increasingly commonly used as a generic third person pronoun, though only after stating the name before.
Reference table
The following table is meant as a non-exhaustive reference for the most common ways used to refer to third person human referents in different situations, excluding titles:
| If... | Speaker is higher than Listener | Speaker is equal to Listener | Speaker is lower than Listener | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3SG is higher than... | both Speaker and Listener | yamei (name) lāma yamei (name) suntam/sintam |
(yamei) (name) suntam/sintam(/lāma) | yamei (name) suntam/sintam |
| Listener, but lower than or equal to Speaker |
udhyāras yamei lātiṃṣin (name) lāma |
/ | / | |
| Speaker, but lower than or equal to Listener |
/ | / | yamei (name) lāma | |
| 3SG is equal to... | Listener | udhyāras yamei (name) tanta (name) lāma |
/ | / |
| both Speaker and Listener | / | udhyāras lātiṃṣin (name) lāma |
/ | |
| Speaker | / | / | yamei (name) lāma udhyāras lātiṃṣin | |
| 3SG is lower than... | Listener | udhyāras (name) tanta |
/ | / |
| both Speaker and Listener | / | udhyāras (name) tanta |
/ | |
| Speaker | / | / | (name) lāma udhyāras | |
Honorific titles
→ See also: Chlouvānem names § Using names
Chlouvānem uses many honorific titles, which are always used in non-familiar speech. The "honorific" adjective yamei is often added to many of them - especially lāma - and is mandatory in other ones.
- lāma - used after the noun, it is the most common honorific title; almost every time someone is being addressed, lāma is used - the only exceptions being when it is already known another honorific should be used, or in familiar situations. It usually follows the given name alone (e.g. Namihūlša lāma); if the matronymic is added (sometimes done in order to disambiguate), then lāma comes between matronymic and noun (e.g. Līṭhaljāyimāvi lāma Namihūlša). All three names matronymic, surname, and given name together with lāma (e.g. Līṭhaljāyimāvi Kaleñchokah Namihūlša lāma) are only used in very formal addressing from a list of nouns; should matronymic+noun be not enough to distinguish two people, simply surname+noun is used.
- tanta - used for people in a lower position, e.g. used towards one's employees or (usually from seventh class onwards) by teachers and professors towards their students. Also used by militars towards lower-ranked soldiers.
- suntam (regionally also sintam) - used for people in a higher position in certain situations, most commonly towards older and more experienced colleagues (but not teachers or professors, nor work bosses if they're roughly the same age as the speaker).
- lallāmaha - an extremely formal honorific, used for public authorities and all Inquisitors. Most often used together with yamei. Inquisitors may also be referred to as lallāmaha + matronymic + yamei + given name + murkadhāna (lāma)
- jūlin - less formal than lāma, used for people who work in one's home but are not part of the family.
- telen - less formal than lāma, used by men for unmarried women whom they know somewhat well. Currently less frequently used than it was up to about 10 years ago.
- jāmilšīreh - used in military contexts towards higher-ranked people, or by common people towards military commanders in service.
- udhyā(ras) - neutral but respectful title of address, often used when generally speaking and without knowing who the listener is. Sometimes used, when in a plural sense, in the form yamei dāvudhyāre. In its neutralness relative to rank, it can be compared with the Soviet-era use of товарищ. It is also how high-ranked Inquisitors and most monks address the general public.
Note that udhyāras is the direct form, udhyā the irregular vocative. - pūrivāla - an impersonal term of address used in written language, towards unfamiliar people never met personally. Often used as yamei [name] pūrivāla.
- cuca is not strictly an honorific, as it pertains to more colloquial forms of speech, but it works the same way. It has a diminutive and endearing meaning, not unlike Japanese -chan. In formal speech, it is often used towards and when speaking about children.
Occupations commonly used as titles
- camitorai — head of a company (usually as [matronymic] yamei [name] camitorai lāma)
- kauchlærīn (voc.: kauchlærī) — professor (in universities, seminaries, institutions, and work schools)
- tatnāmęlīn (voc.: tatnāmęlī) — teacher (in first and basic schools)
Official titles
Where not noted, the formula is [matronymic] yamei [name] [title] lāma.
- brausamailenya — Baptist — rendered as aveṣyotārire lallāmaha [matronymic] yamei [surname + given name] brausamailenia lāma.
- camimurkadhāna — Great Inquisitor — rendered as nanū aveṣyotārire lallāmaha [matronymic] yamei [surname + given name] camimurkadhāna lāma.
- camitorai — president (of diocesan parliaments or executives or of foreign countries). Rendered as aveṣyotārire [matronymic (if Chlouvānem)] yamei [name] camitorai lāma.
- plušamelīs (voc.: plušamelī) — Prefect (head of an Office (plušamila) of the Inquisition). Rendered as aveṣyotārire [matronymic] yamei [name] plušamelī(s) lāma.
- gatvā — leader/head/president/mayor — preceded by the genitive of the respective administration (ṣramāṇa "province", lalka "circuit", hālgāra "district", marta "city"…).
- hurdagīn — Head Monk (head of a monastery) — rendered as kaili brausire yamei [name] hurdagīn lāma (+ monastery name-GEN)[6]
- juṃša — Bishop (head of a diocese) — rendered as aveṣyotārire [matronymic] yamei [(surname +) name] juṃša lāma (+ diocese name-GEN).
- lallaflušamelīs (voc.: lallaflušamelī) — High Prefect (head of the Table of Offices (flušamaili eṇāh, the executive branch of the Inquisition). Usually rendered as taili aveṣyotārire [matronymic] yamei [name] lallaflušamelī(s) lāma.
- lallamurkadhāna — High Inquisitor (one of the 612 members of the Inquisitorial Conclave (murkadhānumi lanedāmeh, the legislative branch of the Inquisition). Usually rendered as aveṣyotārire [matronymic] yamei [name] lallamurkadhāna lāma.
- ñæltryam — monk.
- ṭommīn (voc.: ṭommī) — Eparch (head of an Eparchy).
Note that the full titles are used generally at the first mention only. For example, Martayināvi yamei murkadhāna Læhimausa lāma becomes afterwards either yamei murkadhāna or yamei Læhimausa lāma. With the Great Inquisitor, this does not usually get shorter than nanū aveṣyotārire yamei lallāmaha ([Her] Respectable Most Excellent Highness) or nanū aveṣyotārire lallāmaha camimurkadhāna ([Her] Most Excellent Highness, the Great Inquisitor).
Honorific particles
There are a few honorific particles - mostly of Ancient Kūṣṛmāthi origin - that are used to make names or nouns honorific:
- īvai makes a verb humble, and is put after a verb, too.
- nami denotes respect towards the trigger of the verb. It was common in the past alongside the honorific verb tilah, but today it rarely used.
- yo- is a prefix for things pertaining to a honourable person, often used together with a verb with nami.
- dau- is a prefix that makes nouns honorific.
Numerals (māltsāk)
Chlouvānem is one of the few human Calemerian languages - together with all other Lahob languages and a few ones of the southern hemisphere, as well as others like Qualdomelic or vernaculars of the Inquisition which have had considerable Chlouvānem influence - with a pure duodecimal number system.
Numbers (sg māltsām, pl. māltsāk) have six different forms: cardinal, ordinal, collective, distributive, adverbial/multiplicative, and fractionary. 1-4 have separate adverbial multiplicative forms, while all other ones have an invariable form used both as adverbial and 'adjectival' multiplicatives. Cardinals from 1 to Ɛ and their compounds decline for case (see below); collectives, multiplicatives, and fractionaries always decline, while ordinals are only declined if used without an accompanying noun. Distributives do not decline.
| Digit12 | Base 10 | Cardinal | Ordinal | Collective | Distributive | Adv./Multiplicative | Fractionary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | ajrā | (ajrāyende) | — | (ajrehaicē) | (māgajrā) | — |
| 1 | 1 | emibe emi |
lahīla | emibhaicē | māgemibe (adv.) emibarvīm |
lahīlvāṭ | |
| 2 | 2 | dani | hælinaika | danyatām | danihaicē | māgdani (adv.) danirvīm |
hælinaivāṭ |
| 3 | 3 | pāmvi | pāmvende | pāmvyatām | pāmvihaicē | māmpāmvi (adv.) pāmvirvīm |
pāmvendvāṭ |
| 4 | 4 | nęlte | nęltende | nęltitām | nęltehaicē | māgnęlte (adv.) nęltarvīm |
nęltendvāṭ |
| 5 | 5 | šulka | šulkende | šulkatām | šulkhaicē | šulkarvīm | šulkendvāṭ |
| 6 | 6 | tulūɂa | tulūɂende | tulūɂatām | tulūɂihaicē | tulūrvīm | tulūɂendvāṭ |
| 7 | 7 | chīka | chīcænde | chīcætām | chīcihaicē | chīkarvīm | chīcændvāṭ |
| 8 | 8 | tītya | tītyende | tītyatām | tītihaicē | tītyarvīm | tītyendvāṭ |
| 9 | 9 | moja | mojende | mojatām | mojihaicē | mojarvīm | mojendvāṭ |
| ᘔ | 10 | tålda | tåldende | tåldatām | tåldihaicē | tåldarvīm | tåldendvāṭ |
| Ɛ | 11 | vælden | vældinde | vælditām | vældihaicē | vældirvīm | vældindvāṭ |
| 10 | 12 | māmei | māminde | māmintām | māmeihaicē | māmairvīm | māmindvāṭ |
| 11 | 13 | emibumaye | emibumayinde | emibumaintām | emibumaihaicē | emibumairvīm | emibumayindvāṭ |
| 12 | 14 | danimaye | danimayinde | danimaintām | danimaihaicē | danimairvim | danimayindvāṭ |
| 13 | 15 | pamihælī | pamihælīnde | pamihælītām | pamihælīhaicē | pamihælīrvīm | pamihælīndvāṭ |
| 14 | 16 | māminęlte | māminęltende | māminęltitām | māminęltehaicē | māminęltarvīm | māmiynęltendvāṭ |
| 15 | 17 | māmišulka | māmišulkende | māmišulkatām | māmišulkhaicē | māmišulkarvīm | māmišulkendvāṭ |
| 16 | 18 | māmivælka | māmivælkende | māmivælkatām | māmivælkihaicē | māmivælkarvīm | māmivælkendvāṭ |
| 17 | 19 | māmichīka | māmichīcænde | māmichīcætām | māmichīcihaicē | māmichīkarvīm | māmichīcændvāṭ |
| 18 | 20 | māmitītya | māmitītyende | māmitītyatām | māmitītihaicē | māmitītyarvīm | māmitītyendvāṭ |
| 19 | 21 | māmimoja | māmimojende | māmimojatām | māmimojihaicē | māmimojarvīm | māmimojendvāṭ |
| 1ᘔ | 22 | māmitålda | māmitåldende | māmitåldatām | māmitåldihaicē | māmitåldarvīm | māmitåldendvāṭ |
| 1Ɛ | 23 | māmivælden | māmivældinde | māmivælditām | māmivældihaicē | māmivældirvīm | māmivældindvāṭ |
| 20 | 24 | hælmāmei | hælmāminde | hælmāmintām | hælmāmeihaicē | hælmāmairvīm | hælmāmindvāṭ |
As for the two forms for one, emi is used in disjunctive counting (e.g. count-ins or countdowns) while emibe is used elsewhere. Compounds always have the full form, i.e. forms such as *hælmāmyemi do not exist.
Some compound words, especially technical and scientific ones, use Lällshag morphemes for the quantities from 1 to ᘔ (though from 5 onwards they're rarer): mån- 1, yūn- 2, lyāš- 3, alan- 4, tamb- 5, jiruṇ- or ciruṇ- 6, tulyæn- 7, neim- 8, šid- 9, abar- ᘔ.
Numbers from 2012 above are simply made by compounding teens and units with the appropriate saṃdhi changes, like 2112 (2510) hælmāmyemibe, and then hælmāmidani, hælmāmipāmvi, and so on. Note that other compounds with 6 use -tulūɂa and not -vælka as in 1612.
The other dozens are:
- 30 (3610) pāmvimāmei
- 40 (4810) nęltemāmei
- 50 (6010) šulkmāmei
- 60 (7210) vælknihæla
- 70 (8410) māmyāvælka (regionally chīcæmāmei, particularly in the East)
- 80 (9610) tītimāmei
- 90 (10810) mojemāmei
- ᘔ0 (12010) tåldimāmei
- Ɛ0 (13210) māmimīram
- and 100 (14410) nihæla.
The apparent irregularities in the words for 6012, 7012, and Ɛ012 are explained by etymology: vælka is the reflex of PLB *wewənko, which meant “half”, thus vælknihæla is “half hundred” and māmyāvælka is “twelve on half”; māmimīram is literally “twelve [less] from ahead”. 1312 originally meant "one finger/three (pāmvi, the word for three, also meant "finger" in PLB (*pāmwəj) - whence also the Chlouvānem word for "finger", pamuvis (< PLB *pamwəjis)) in the second [dozen]", where the -hælī part is a worn form of hælinaika.
Numbers from 10012 to ƐƐƐ12 are still compounds, e.g. nihælaimibe, nihæladani, and so on. Note that 16012 is most commonly nihæltulūɂa, but the more literary form nihælvælka may still be heard.
The other dozenal hundreds are:
- 200 (28810) daninihæla
- 300 (43210) pāmvinihæla
- 400 (57610) nęltenihæla
- 500 (72010) šulknihæla
- 600 (86410) tulūnihæla
- 700 (100810) chīcænihæla
- 800 (115210) tītinihæla
- 900 (129610) mojanihæla
- ᘔ00 (144010) tåldanihæla
- Ɛ00 (158410) vældenihæla.
1.000 (172810) is tildhā and numbers above are separate words, without saṃdhi, e.g. 1.001 tildhā emibe, 6.2ᘔ9 (1078510) tulūɂa tildhā daninihælatåldimāmimoja.
Note that 2.00012 may be either one of tildhāt, dani tildhā, or (only emphatically) dani tildhāt.
The other divisions - numbers over ƐƐ.ƐƐƐ12 are based on groups of two digits: the two most commonly used ones in common speech are 1.00.000 (248.83210) - a raicē - and 1.00.00.000 (35.831.80810) - a lallaraicē.
The next two groups have their separate words, but are quantities rarely used in common speech: 1.00.00.00.000 (129) (5.159.780.35210) is a taiskaucis and 1.00.00.00.00.000 (1211) (743.008.370.68810) a lallataiskaucis. The words khorādi (127, i.e. synonym of lallaraicē), yaṣmūn (1211, i.e. lallataiskaucis), iriakas (1213), mairān or lalleriakas (1215), nirāvah (1217), and sṝva or lallanirāvah (1219) were introduced in Classical-era texts, but are almost never used today. However, they form the base for the scientific measurement system's prefixes.
Their non-cardinal forms are all regular, with -ende (-inde after -m or for Ɛ12) for ordinals, -tām for collectives, -haicē for distributives, -rvīm for adverbials/multiplicatives (prefixed māg- for the separate adverbial forms), and -endvāṭ/-indvāṭ for the fractionaries. Compounds of 1-2 retain all irregular suppletive forms, e.g. hælmāmilahīla 2112st (2510th); hælmāmihælinaika 2212nd (2610th).
Finally, there are few other cardinals commonly used in speech: vālhælia 1½, vālpāmvya 2½, vālnęlca 3½, vālšulca 4½, and vāltulūya 5½. The forms vālchīca, vāltītiya, and vālmojya are used in telling the time only and obsolete otherwise, while other similar forms are sparingly attested in older mathematical texts, but periphrastical constructions such as tulūɂa hælinaivāṭ no (or, sometimes, - vælka no) are more commonly heard and used nowadays.
Use of fractionary numbers
Fractionary numbers (except vāl- ones) are used to express non-integers just like any other quantity. Simple ones such as 0,6 (½) are the basic fractionary number - in this case hælinaivāṭ (note that, outside mathematics, danyāmita is the preferred term for "half", both in metaphorical (lilyā viṣam danyāmita "my other half") and non-metaphorical uses (alāvi danyāmita "half of the bottle")); other examples are 0,3 (¼) nęltendvāṭ and 0,4 (⅓) pāmvendvāṭ.
With more complex fractions, the smallest part (negative power of twelve) is stated - the three commonly found are 1/12 (māmindvāṭ), 1/144 (nihælendvāṭ), and 1/1728 (tildhaindvāṭ). For example, 0,82 is tītimāmidani nihælendvāṭ and 0,7ᘔ6 is chīcænihælamāmimīraṃtulūɂa tildhaindvāṭ; sometimes, "0, then" (mīram) may be added: ajrā mīram tītimāmidani nihælendvāṭ.
With a non-fractionary portion that is not zero, instead of mīram, smurā (full, integer) is used - e.g. 2,307 is usually said as dani smurā pāmvinihælchīka tildhaindvāṭ.
Declensions of cardinal numbers
Some cardinal numbers are declined for case, but this is usually only done in formal Chlouvānem. In informal Chlouvānem, either only emibe is declined, or are all numerals up to vælden, plus nihæla. Compounds of these are usually not declined. The words tildhā, (lalla)raicē, and (lalla)taiskaucis are always declined, but they are fully nouns.
| Case | emibe | i-paradigm | a-paradigm | en-paradigm |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| dani, pāmvi, nęlte[7] | 5 to 10[8] | vælden only | ||
| Direct Vocative |
emibe | dani | šulka | vælden |
| Accusative | emiyu | danyu | šulku | vældu |
| Ergative | emeis | danyes | šulkes | vældes |
| Genitive | emibī | dani[9] | šulki[10] | vældi |
| Translative | emiban | danin | šulkan | vældanna |
| Exessive | emibat | danit | šulkat | vældanta |
| Essive | emibą | danyą | šulkąa | vældąs |
| Dative | emibå | danyå | šulkå | vældå |
| Ablative | emiyų | danyų | šulkų | vældų |
| Locative | emiye | danye | šulke | vælde |
| Instrumental | emīp | danip | šulkip | vældampa |
Use of numerals
Cardinal numerals may be used in two ways, depending on whether emphasis is given to the number or to the thing counted.
- In the most common use, the counted thing is emphasized: the numeral is put before the noun and the noun is always singular (except for "two", see below) plus the appropriate case: e.g. emibe yujam (one lotus flower); dani māra (two mango fruits); pāmvi haloe (three names), vælden ñaiṭa (eleven stars), and so on.
- If emphasis is given to the number, then the counted thing comes first, and, if it should be in direct, ergative, or accusative case, it is in genitive singular instead; the semantic direct, ergative, or accusative case is taken by the numeral itself if it is one, two, three, or compounds. Examples: yujami emibe (one lotus flower), māri dani (two mango fruits), halenyes pāmvi (three names), ñaiṭi vælden (eleven stars). In other cases, the noun follows the semantic case (but is always singular anyway), e.g. marti pāmvi (three cities) but marte pāmvye (in the three cities).
This form is increasingly less common in everyday use. - "Two" may be used with either singular or dual number: dani māra or māri dani are both as correct as dani mārāt and māreva dani - note that the dual number alone, without the numeral, has the same meaning. Outside of literary texts, it is however more common to specify "two" with the numeral.
Ordinal numerals are regular attributive adjective-like words that precede nouns - e.g. hælinaika kita "second house". They do not decline if are used together with a noun, but they can also be used alone (e.g. hælinaika "the second one"), in which case they decline for case and number, as if they were -eh nouns (-a for 1st and 2nd), e.g. mojendesām ukulate "it has been told to those in ninth position".
Collective numerals (which decline as regular -ām nouns) are most commonly found with the meaning of "a group consisting of X ...", therefore implying greater cohesiveness than using the cardinal number implies. A common example of the subtle meaning change is between the sentences chīka lalāruṇa togāhaite (with a cardinal) and chīcætām lalāruṇa togāhaite (with a collective): both mean "seven lalāruṇai hit", but in the latter sentence the action is implied to be a coordinate act of all seven animals, while in the former they either hit randomly or the coordination of the action is not specified (or not specification-worthy). This is also the most common meaning with pluralia tantum, as commonly heard with ethnonyms (which are all plural only in Chlouvānem), e.g. šulkatām chlǣvānem "[a group of] five Chlouvānem people".
They can also be found, context-dependent, used with the meaning of "all X of..." - in a sentence such as e.g. tītyatām lejīn dilu liju lilejlaikate "all eight singers wanted to sing the same song" - or with the meaning of "X sets of" with singularia tantum - e.g. pāmvyatām hærṣūs "three pairs of lips" (but note that colloquial Chlouvānem increasingly often uses the cardinals here, e.g. pāmvi hærṣūs).
The collective numerals for 0 and 1 (ajrāṇṭām and emibutām respectively) are not included in the table above because they do not exist in practical use; however, they are sporadically found in poetry and literature, referring to people and with the meaning of "a group where only one/no one is ...", e.g. ajrāṇṭām tadhusmausīn "a group where no one is honest". Similarly, collectives for vāl- numbers (e.g. vālpāmvyantām "a group consisting of 2½ ...") exist, but are virtually unused. danyatām, like dani, may be use together with either a singular or a dual noun.
In some cases, the choice between a collective and a cardinal is stylistic. While for example concepts such as "we are..." or "I have ... children" do normally use the collective (e.g. tulūɂatām ñæltah jalim "we are six sisters/a group of six reciprocal brothers and sisters"; lili mæn nęltitām samin "I have four children"), even if using a cardinal isn't wrong, in a sentence such as "there are X people" both versions are found, with the collective-using sentence (e.g. dvārma vælditāmą lilęs virā "in the room there are eleven people") being perceived as more formal than the more colloquially heard cardinal-using version (i.e. dvārma vældąs lilęs virā).
Distributive numerals are indeclinable adjective-like words, and have the meaning of "X each": pāmvihaicē titē męlyāhai "three pens each are given"; lili lilyā ñæltah no tulūɂihaicē kolecañi alau ulgutarate "my sister and I have bought six bottles of kvas each" — note in both sentences the use of singular number in titē (pencil) and alūs (acc. alau) "bottle", just like after cardinal and collective numerals.
Adverbial numerals are adverbs with the meaning of "X times" and multiplicative numbers are adjective-like words (that can also be used alone) with the meaning of "X times as large"; numbers from 1 to 4 have both forms, while all other ones (except 0) have only the multiplicative one, which is used for both meanings. Examples: pāmvirvīm yąloe "triple meal/a meal three times as large"; āsena māgdani "twice a month"; āsena tītyarvīm "eight times a month".
Zero only has an adverbial form (māgajrā), which is however only used in reading multiplications and powers, e.g. 3 * 0 māgajrā pāmvi, 90 māgajrā demǣ moja.
Fractionary numerals are always used in the noun.GEN numeral construction, and they are invariable in direct, vocative, accusative, and ergative case but decline with -vaḍa in all of the others (in fact, etymologically they derive from worn down forms of ordinal + vaḍa, meaning Xth part, e.g. hælinaika vaḍa (the second part) → hælinaivāṭ). Unlike ordinals, the noun is always in the genitive case. Examples: marti hælinaivāṭ "half of the city" ; alāvi nęltendvāṭ "one fourth of the bottle" ; babhrāmi tulūɂendvaḍe "in one sixth of the country".
Basic maths
- 1 + 2 = 3
- emibe nanū dani pāmvyå lunade (1.DIR. more. 2.DIR. 3-DAT. go.MONODIR-IND.PRES-3DU.EXTERIOR-AGENTIVE) — rule: ADIR nanū BDIR (nanū ...) CDAT lunade (two addends) / lunāhai (3+ addends)
- 3 - 2 = 1
- pāmvi isan dani emibå lunade (3.DIR. minus. 2.DIR. 1-DAT go.MONODIR-IND.PRES-3DU.EXTERIOR-AGENTIVE) — rule: ADIR isan BDIR (isan ...) CDAT lunade (two addends) / lunāhai (3+ addends)
- 3 * 2 = 6
- māgdani pāmvi tulūɂå liven (2.ADV.MULTIP. 3.DIR. 6-DAT. go.MONODIR-IND.PRES-3SG.EXTERIOR-AGENTIVE) — rule: MULTIPLICATIVE.(ADV)-B ADIR CDAT liven
- 6 : 2 = 3
- hælinaivadęs tulūɂa pāmvyå liven (2.FRACTION-ESS. 6.DIR 3-DAT. go.MONODIR-IND.PRES-3SG.EXTERIOR-AGENTIVE) — rule: FRACTIONARY-BESS ADIR CDAT liven
- 62 = 30 (3610)
- māgdani demǣ tulūɂa pāmvimāmei liven (2.ADV.MULTIP. REFL.GEN-LOC. 6.DIR. 3012. go.MONODIR-IND.PRES-3SG.EXTERIOR-AGENTIVE) — rule: MULTIPLICATIVE.(ADV)-B demǣ ADIR CDAT liven
Reified numerals
Reified numerals, or numerals used as nouns, have a special form, which is actually the numeral with the common noun-forming suffix -as added (with regular saṃdhi). These numerals are used most notably for:
- In order to refer to the digits themselves (danyas "the digit 2");
- Things named with numbers (tulūɂās "[tram/bus/etc] number 6");
- (in the plural) Year dozens (vælknihælē "the 6012s = the 386012s);
- (in the plural) Age ranges by the dozen (hælmāmeyē "2012ies" = the age range from the start of one's 2012th year to the end of one's 2Ɛth);
- School marks - note that there's no uniform system in the Inquisition (nęltayas "a grade 4" (passing grade in the most widespread system for non-higher education in the Inquisition, ranging from 1 (emibayas), worst, to 7 (chīkās), best));
- A group of X people - a reification of collective numerals (pāmvyas "a trio").
Note that there are some terms which use numerals as roots but aren't considered reified numbers (also because of their rather inconsistent meanings); the most common examples include danyāmita (half) and māmyāmita (dozen).
Units of Measurement
Chlouvānem units of measurement (lęlgīs, pl. lęlgais) are divided in popular units (leilausirena lęlgais) and scientific units (tarlausirena lęlgais). Scientific units, while understood, are rarely found outside of scientific contexts if corresponding popular units exist, while popular units are found in daily usage. Popular units follow however a measurement standard introduced in the year 36Ɛ7 (618710) and updated several times in the following two centuries, in order to give a single understood measure for all units whose names and definitions varied across the many countries of the Chlouvānem cultural space.
It is also to be noted that Calemerian scientific units have internationally unified definitions for their base units but are substantially different between the Western and the Eastern world as Western countries use them with a decimal system, while the Eastern countries (the Inquisition, most of the former Kaiṣamā, and Greater Skyrdagor) use them with a duodecimal system.
Length
Units in italics are popular divisions used in speech and not usually written. The nīnas has its own abbreviation but it is nowadays rarely used, and most often written as 2 vā even if spoken as nīnas.
| Short | Name | Meaning/name origin | Equivalent to | Metric system (approx.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| lūj | lūjla (ABL) | Point, tip | 1/12 liv | ~1.20255 mm |
| liv | livuka | Short (dialectal) | ⅙ de | ~1.44305 cm |
| de | dera | Finger (in A.Kūṣṛmāṭhi) | ⅓ vā | ~8.65833 cm |
| vā | vāriṇa | Span | ¼ pā | 25.975 cm |
| nī | nīnas | Knee | ½ pā | 51.95 cm |
| pā | pājya | Leg | (base unit) | 103.9 cm |
| bru | brujñya | Fathom | 2+½ pā | 2.5975 m |
| vyaṣojrī nęltendvāṭ | Quarter of vyaṣojrā | ¼ vya — 90 (10810) bru | 280.53 m | |
| vyaṣojrī pāmvendvāṭ | Third of vyaṣojrā | ⅓ vya — 100 (14410) bru | 374.04 m | |
| vyaṣojrī hælinaivāṭ | Half vyaṣojrā | ½ vya — 160 (21610) bru | 561.06 m | |
| vya | vyaṣojrā | Plough | 300 (43210) bru | 1122.12 m — 1.11212 km |
| gar | garaṇa | Hour | 6+⅓ vya | 7106.76 m — 7.10676 km |
Area
The våṇṭa may or may not be written as a separate measure. A measure of 1 jāṇa and 700 dvāmāryai may be written as 1 jā.700 (dvā) (most commonly) or as 1 jā.1.100 (dvā).
| Short | Name | Meaning/name origin | Equivalent to | Metric system (approx.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| sǣ | sǣca | Small, Piece (in A.Namaikehi) | 1 nī * 1 nī | 51.95 cm2 |
| dar | daryā | unknown; name first used in the Near East | 60 (7210) sǣ | 3,740.4 cm2 |
| re | relya | Carpet | 3 dar | ~1.12212 m2 |
| dvā | dvāmārya | ultimately from dvārma (room) | 4 re | ~4.48848 m2 |
| vå | våṇṭa | probably from a Tamukāyi word meaning "fence(d)" | 600 (86410) dvā — ½ jā | ~3,878.0467 m2 |
| jā | jāṇa | Field | 1,000 (1,72810) do — 2 vå | ~7,756.0934 m2 |
| e | ekram | Expanse (in A.Namaikehi) | 100 (14410) jā | ~1.1168 km2 |
Weight (and mass)
| Short | Name | Meaning/name origin | Equivalent to | Metric system (approx.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| vaj | vaji | dimin. from vaḍa (part) | 1/100 (1/14410) dū | ~51.79398 mg |
| dū | dūdha | Seed | ⅙ lit | ~7.45833 g |
| lit | litveh | Cut (in A.Namaikehi) | ¼ aut | 44.75 g |
| aut | auṭikā | probably an augmentative from PLB *wutərus[11] | (base unit) | 179 g |
| tū | tulūɂendā | ultimately from tulūɂendes (sixth) | 6 aut | 1,074 g |
| pau | paurā | Rock (dialectal) | 70 (8410) aut | 12.53 kg |
| māp | māmipaurā | māmei (twelve) + paurā | 10 (1210) pau | 150.36 kg |
| lap | lallapaurā | lalla (high, further) + paurā | 10 (1210) māp | 1,804.32 kg |
Volume
| Short | Name | Meaning/name origin | Equivalent to | Metric system (approx.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| src | ṣærcañīh | dimin. from ṣarus (spoon) | ½ ṣar | ~5.78704 mL |
| ṣar | ṣarus | Spoon | ⅓ cel | ~11.57407 mL |
| cel | celya | Small glass | ⅙ lun | ~34.72222 mL |
| lun | luneyāvi | from lunai (tea) | ⅓ val | ~0.20833 L |
| val | valdhēna | Flagon | (base unit) | 0.625 L |
| al | alūs | Bottle | 2+ ⅓ val | ~1.45833 L |
| då | dåṣṭis | Bucket | 8 al | ~11.66666 L |
| raš | rašah | Barrel | 16 (1810) då | ~210 L |
There are also two further units for dry measures only:
- the purṣa ("pot", pur), equivalent to 1+½ val (~0.9375 L);
- the ręnah ("jar, urn", rę), equivalent to 6 pur (~5.625 L).
The egimbladuldāvi (egd) is a unit used for measuring engine displacement: 1 egd equals ⅙ val, that is ~0.10416667 L (~104.16667 cc).
Temperature
Temperature measuring in the Chlouvānem world uses the Jahārāṭha scale (shortened ºj; named after scientist Ṣastirāvi Jahārāṭha Nukthalin), which is fixed with a zero degree at water freezing temperature at sea level. 100 ºj is the rough boiling temperature of water, but, being a duodecimal scale, it is 10012 (14410), thus 1 ºj equals 25/36 of a degree Celsius, or 1 ºC = 1.44 ºj.
The median body temperature of a Calemerian human (which is slightly lower than for terrestrial humans) is of 41 ºj (4910), thus ~34.0278 ºC.
Time
→ See also: Chlouvānem Calendar and time § the Chlouvānem calendar
| English | Chlouvānem | Equivalent to | rough Earthly approximation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | heirah | 418 Calemerian days | 609.6 Earth days |
| Day | pārṇam | 2812 (3210) hours | ~35 hours |
| Hour | garaṇa | 3 hælmāmyai 6012 (7210) railai |
~65 min ~37 sec |
| group of "minutes" | hælmāmya | 2012 (2410) railai | ~21 min ~52 sec |
| "Minute" | raila | (base unit) | ~54.6805 sec |
| "Second" | namišoe | 1/4012 (1/4810) raila | ~1.8986 sec |
| 1/12 of a "second" | (namišeni) māmendvāṭ | 1/1012 (1/1210) namišoe | ~0.1582 sec |
| 1/144 of a "second" | (namišeni) nihælendvāṭ | 1/10012 (1/14410) namišoe | ~0.0131 sec |
| 1/1728 of a "second" | (namišeni) tildhaindvāṭ | 1/100012 (1/172810) namišoe | ~1.0987 ms |
Other units
| Chlouvānem | Symbol | rough Earthly approximation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| frequency | lūnaji | lnj | ~0.526704 Hz |
| voltage | chulgān | chg | 1 V |
Particles (remīn)
Traditional Chlouvānem grammar only recognizes a single part of speech called "particles" (remīn, literally "helper(s)") which includes conjunctions, postpositions, and interjections. However, these three are recognized as subsets of particles - here translated as "conjunctive particles" (natemālāhai remīn), "accompanying particles", i.e. postpositions (ūtimāhai remīn), and "exclamatory particles" (pigdilanah nali remīn).
Conjunctive particles
Conjunctive particles may not stand syntactically alone and, with a few exceptions, don't require any particular case of a noun. Most of them function, or are also used, as conjunctions between sentences.
- āk — on the other hand, whereas
- jahān — anyway (conjunction or second position adverb)
- lai — inclusive or
- las — and (in incomplete listings, cf. no and sama); it follows the noun it refers to, and in listings with more than two nouns it follows every noun except for the first. Not used to conjoin sentences.
- lenta — "together (with)", adverbial or postpositive, requiring genitive case in the latter usage. When pospositive, it is more emphatic than lā. Adverbially, gimmālęe is more common.
- mailiven — so, thus, therefore (grammaticalized use of go_forward.UNIDIR.PRES.IND.3SG.PATIENT.EXTERIOR.)
- mbu — exclusive or
- najelai — maybe. Originally the archaic potential form of najalle (to happen). Sentence-final, requires a verb in the subjunctive mood, e.g. yahatite najelai "maybe I'll read it".
- nānim — almost; if used with nouns, requires essive case.
- nanū — also, too (only between sentences, cf. tora). A different use of the adverb meaning "more".
- ni — but (in second position)
- no — and (in complete listings, cf. las); same placement as las. Also used to conjoin sentences, but sama is preferred, especially when there are different subjects (triggered arguments).
- nyąu — because, for, as (cf. tī); amyąu in the Classical era, i.e. the ablative of the former demonstrative ami.
- Used sentence-finally: aganą lā įstyāk nyąu yųlake pañcekte "as (s)he was hungry, (s)he started eating." In lone sentences, e.g. answers, tī is preferred: aganą lā tī įstyāk "because (s)he was hungry."
- paṣe — furthermore
- pū — if (and pūmbu "whether") - see Chlouvānem syntax § Conditional sentences
- sama (sam before vowels) — and (between sentences only, cf. las and no)
- tadye — despite that (between sentences), cf. tatta.
- tatta — despite, even though; requires a noun in the essive case or a subjunctive verb (e.g. gu talunīs ša tatta dadrā "even though you didn't come, it has been done."). Colloquially, it is also used anaphorically, instead of tadye; however, it is considered bad style in formal language.
- tora — also, too; used adverbially and between sentences (where, however, nanū is more common).
- vivāmi — "too much", adverbial or postpositive, requiring genitive case in the latter usage.
- væse — while, in the meantime; "during (the)" with nouns. Requires a verb in the subjunctive mood or a noun in the essive (or, meaning-dependant, exessive or translative) case.
Accompanying particles (i.e. postpositions)
These particles can never stand alone, do not conjoin sentences, and nearly always require a particular noun case.
- bīs — between; from ... until, in expressions of time. Comes after both nouns in essive case: šurājęs nyūramyęs bīs "between Šurājah and Nyūramyah
- dam — interrogative particle in polar questions, put after the verb (e.g. daltah vi dam? "is it a fish?")
- e — like. Requires essive case with nouns and subjunctive mood with verbs.
- ga — adpositive particle, used to join nouns in noun phrases (usually titles or proper names, but not honorifics), e.g. Līlasuṃghāṇa ga marta "Līlasuṃghāṇa city" or Tāllahārya ga maita "Tāllahārya river".
- gu(n) ~ ša — negative circumposition used around verbs, e.g. gu yuyųlsegde ša "(s)he does not want to eat". The first element is gun before vowels; the ša element is omitted if the verb is attributive.
- lā — with (comitative); requires essive case (e.g. lilyąa ñæltęs lā "with my sister"). The Archaic Chlouvānem form was lapi.
- lut — used with expressions of time: means "ago" if used with ablative case (nęlcų heirų lut "four years ago"), "for/since" if with essive case (nęlcą heiręs lut "for four years").
- mboda — except for; requires subjunctive mood or essive case (e.g. nītedarāhai lailąs mboda nalunya upulsma "entrance is forbidden, except for involved people" → "authorized personnel only")
- mei and go — "yes" and "no", used according to the polarity of the question; i.e. mei denotes the statement is true ("yes" to affirmative questions, "no" to negative questions), while go denotes the statement is false ("no" to affirmative questions, "yes" to negative questions).
- mæn — marks a topic which otherwise has no role in the sentence.
- nali — benefactive marker, used with a noun in direct case; marks the benefited argument when the verb is not in benefactive-trigger voice. If used with a subjunctive verb, means "in order to", with a nuance of hope (the bare subjunctive already carries the "in order to" meaning).
- nin — after, with ablative or subjunctive (nęlcų heirų nin "after four years")
- pa — on, of, concerning, on the subject of, about. Requires a direct case noun (e.g. vāṇatarlā pa naviṣya "book about botany") or a subjunctive mood verb (e.g. šūñjulā drētte pa nīdhāḍirdya "the two of us are talking about what (s)he did down there").
- ras — antibenefactive marker, used with a noun in direct case; marks the anti-benefited argument when the verb is not in antibenefactive-trigger voice. If used with a subjunctive verb, means "to avoid X".
- sām — different meanings depending on case:
- ablative, in expressions of time: "in ... time" (at the end of a certain period), or "by": nęlcų heirų sām "in four years' time, four years for now"; šurājų sām "by Šurājah";
- translative (rarely essive), in expressions of time: "in/for/until" (within, during a certain period): nęltin heiran sām "for the coming four years" (or nęlcą heiręs sām); ājvan sām "until dawn";
- dative case, with places: "until, as far as": līlasuṃghāṇa kahērimaila ga keikom sām "as far as Līlasuṃghāṇa Kahērimaila Station")
- subjunctive verb: "until": primęlirī sām "until he/she/it comes back".
- šut — before, with ablative or subjunctive (nęlcų heirų šut "four years before").
- vādį — without, with essive or subjunctive. Unlike English, it cannot be used anaphorically.
"Paired" particles
Chlouvānem does not have "paired" particles as English does, because they are translated in different ways:
- "both... and..." is translated by the adverb peimęe (the same), either in the form "X Y no peimęe" or in "X ..., Y peimęe":
- jādāh lañekaica no peimęe nanau draikate – both Jādāh and Lañekaica did that.
- nānyu uyųlaṃte : māru peimęe – I have eaten both the bread and the mango.
- "neither... nor..." requires the sentence to be built in a different way, namely "not X, and also not Y", where "also not" is translated in two different ways: 1) by the particle gūta (more formal); or 2) with the adverb peimęe - therefore building a sentence that is exactly like the "both X and Y" but negative.
- jādāh nanau gu dṛkte ša : lañekaica gūta – neither Jādah nor Lañekaica did that. Literal translation: Jādāh didn't do it, and Lañekaica also [didn't].
- nāniu gu uyųlaṃte ša : māru peimęe – I have eaten neither the bread nor the mango. Literally: I haven't eaten the bread, and the same for the mango.
- "either... or..." is easily translated by the exclusive or (mbu). It is commonly only used after the second term, but it can be put after every term for emphasis:
- jādāh (mbu) lañekaica mbu nanau dṛkte – either Jādah or Lañekaica did it. (note the singular verb)
Emphatic particles
A few particles are used (usually sentence-finally) in order to convey particular feelings of the speaker about the statement:
- anā is an introductory particle (e.g. "so")
- å expresses either surprise (at the beginning of a sentence) or that the fact is considered annoying (at the end), e.g. å viṣęe dadrāte "wow, (s)he's done it again!" / viṣęe dadrā å "oh no, (s)he's done it again!"
- dā gives the sentence, especially a command or a proposition, an informal tone - cf. German "mal" or Italian "un po'", e.g. najire nanau mešute dā "I'll just see what happens"; peithos dā "just calm down and take a walk around here."
- e is a basic declarative particle when used word-finally, and is often used as an introduction (much like "you know, ...") or as a generic filler.
- eri means "even", marking a positive emphasis (e.g. hūnakumi dhāḍan eri dhāḍire "(s)he even speaks Hūnakumi[12]")
- gāri means "not even", being the opposite of eri, marking a negative emphasis (e.g. hulābdān chlǣvānumi dhāḍan gāri dhāḍire "(s)he doesn't even speak correct Chlouvānem")
- nā, a generic filler (cf. "I mean"), often combined with e. e.g. nā (e) nenēt nāṭ tarliru! "I mean, I already know this!"
- nane is a tag question, e.g. camiyūs vi dam nane? "you're from Cami, aren't you?"
- nimā is an introductory particle, same as anā.
- naihā is a tag question much like nane, but is used when the speaker is in doubt and/or expects a contradictory answer, e.g. lære draute dam naihā? "did I do it yesterday, or...?"
- pos is a filler with a meaning similar to tau, but it is more properly translated as emphasizing that the speaker considers the statement as a general truth or a widely accepted thing, e.g. ālīce jeldegde pos "yeah, everybody knows (s)he acts that way/does that kind of things."
- sāṭ expresses the speaker's doubt about the honesty of the expressed action, e.g. tamye tamyu draukæ sāṭ "(s)he did it for me, but I don't believe that's what (s)he really wanted" or "as if (s)he really did it for me!"
- tau emphasizes that the fact expressed is considered obvious, and is fairly colloquial, e.g. lārvājuṣe ēk tau "huh, I was at the temple, nothing else"; kitui vasau tau "I drove home [what else could I do?]"
- tva puts strong emphasis on a declarative sentence; it is fairly colloquial and not polite, and thus avoided in formal speech, e.g. nenēyu daudyute tati ukulaṃte tva! "damn, I said I want that, shut up!"
Derivational morphology (vāmbeithausire maivāndarāmita)
Chlouvānem has an extensive system of derivational morphology, with many possibilities of deriving words from verbal roots and even from other nouns.
Compounds
Chlouvānem, like Sanskrit, has four main types of compound words (tadmaiva, pl. tadmaivai), called in Chlouvānem grammar emibądanīs (dvandva), khladaradhausire tadmaiva (avyayībhāva), nīdhvakādhūs (tatpuruṣa), and kaudhvakādhūs (bahuvrīhi).
Dvandva (emibądanīs)
The first type of compounds is emibądanīs type (also called no ga tadmaiva), corresponding to dvandva compounds. In emibądanais, all words in the compound are taken with the concrete idea they represent. As hinted to by the alternative name, these compounds effectively substitute an "X Y no" (X and Y), compressing it into a single word.
- tēneh ukyā no "a branch and a trunk" → tēnayukyāt "branch and trunk"
Dvandva compounds are formed by removing the direct case -s or -h marker from the word, lengthening all resulting final vowels (i.e. for all words not ending in -oe, -ai, -m, or -n), and joining with saṃdhi the second word; the second word is then inflected in the dual (if the word semantically refers to two things) or in the plural (if it refers to three or more things - see the next example).
- tēneh nūlyai no "a branch and leaves" → tēnēnūlyai "branch(es) and leaves"
Note that, if the dvandva is plural, there is no indication of how many elements of each component are present:
- lalāruṇāt voltām no "two lalāruṇai (DU) and a sheep (SG)" → lalāruṇāvoltāk "lalāruṇai and sheep" (PL)
- lalāruṇai voltām no "lalāruṇai (PL) and a sheep (SG)" → lalāruṇāvoltāk "lalāruṇai and sheep" (PL)
- lalāruṇa voltāk no "a lalāruṇa (SG) and sheep (PL)" → lalāruṇāvoltāk "lalāruṇai and sheep" (PL)
The identification of how many individual lalāruṇai and sheep is lost in the compound, however, we know from the plural number that there must be at least three animals; otherwise, the dvandva would be dual:
- lalāruṇa voltām no "a lalāruṇa (SG) and a sheep (SG)" → lalāruṇāvoltīvā "lalāruṇai and sheep" (DU)
Dvandva made of three or more elements can, obviously, only be plural:
- lalāruṇa voltām no jorai no "a lalāruṇa, a sheep, and a goat" → lalāruṇāvoltāñjorāye "lalārunai, sheep, and goats"
In the most formal registers of Chlouvānem, it is not uncommon to find dvandva compounds made of several elements:
- lācāh kraṣṭāmita no lillāmita no demigretas no lelyēmita no "love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family" → lācākraṣṭāmitālillāmitādemigretālelyēmitai "love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family"
Avyayībhāva (khladaradhausire tadmaiva)
Avyayībhāva compounds, in Chlouvānem khladaradhausirāhe tadmaivai ("adverbial compounds"), are not as productive as the other types and, in fact, except for a few words they're mostly limited to Archaic and Classical Chlouvānem; despite being based on the latter, modern Chlouvānem does not use them productively.
These compounds generally have a first element which is a particle (or a verbal prefix), and the second element is a noun which is either left uninflected in the direct singular or, more commonly, in the two Archaic Chlouvānem adverbializing cases: the instrumental plural or the locative singular.
- sam + jildas "after + act" → *sañjildas → sañjilde "consequently"
- naš(e) + sṝva "full, complete + extent" → *nakṣṝva → nakṣṝve "as much as possible"
- væse + vāyam "while + image, form" → væsvāyam → væsvāyam or væsvāyaṃrīka "thus, therefore"
- paṣ(e) + vāyam "beyond + image, form" → paṣvāyam → paṣvāyam "in addition, furthermore"
- maibu + jallas "enough + condition" → *maibujallas → maibujalle "as needed"
A particular kind of avyayībhāva is the -ṣati class, whose particularity derives from having a first element which is a declinable word (a possessive determiner); however, they're still adverbs and therefore uninflected:
- lilyā ṣati "my way" → lilyāṣati "from my point of view; in my opinion; my way"
- sāmyā ṣati "your way" → sāmyāṣati "from your point of view; in your opinion; your way"
Tatpuruṣa (nīdhvakādhūs)
Tatpuruṣa compounds (nīdhvakādhūs "with meaning inside", pl. nīdhvakādhaus) are likely the most common overall in Chlouvānem, and are the preferred way of crafting new words. These are endocentric compounds, the last element, the head of the compound, is modified by the previous element(s), which can be of any part of speech. Usually, the tatpuruṣa replaces genitive "X of Y", agentive "X which does Y", benefactive "X for Y", locative "X in Y", instrumental "X with Y", or sometimes copular structures "X which is (also) Y" (corresponding to Sanskrit karmadhāraya compounds) or "X made of Y".
The determining elements are generally uninflected.
- vāṇumi tarlā "study of plants" → vāṇatarlā "botany"
- vāṇatarlom kaminairīveyē lila "a person studying botany" (semantic agent) → vāṇatarlālila "botanist"
- mordhē cūlla "carriage that flies" → mordhacūlla "airplane"
- aṣṭre nali hatsunā "brush for teeth" → aṣṭṛhatsunā "toothbrush"
- nanāye līlta "path in the jungle" → nanailīlta "jungle path"
- nijogāp konanah "shooting with bow" → nijogākonanah "archery"
- muliḍhyęs dunā "a telephone which is a computer" → muliḍhyāḍuṇā "smartphone"
- javilenīs mayābi "wine made from apples" → javilmayābi "cider"
Bahuvrīhi (kaudhvakādhūs)
Bahuvrīhi compounds (kaudhvakādhūs "with meaning outside", pl. kaudhvakādhaus) are also quite common Chlouvānem words; they are exocentric compounds where none of the elements is the head of the compound, or, all elements are qualifiers. They replace structures like "[someone/something] with X which is/are Y" or "[sm/st] whose X is/are Y"; it could even be generalized to "[sm/st] whose [tatpuruṣa compound]":
- murkire dhānęs lā lila "person with black hands" → murkadhāna "Inquisitor"
- yųlgis nali javyęs lā dvārma "room with fire for food" → yųljavyāh "kitchen"[13]
Noun-forming morphemes
-a (unstressed) or -ā (stressed) is a common derivative to make basic words from verbal roots. It does not have any fixed meaning, though it's always pretty close to the root. Nouns with the unstressed suffix and an ablautable vowel usually belong to the ablauting declension. ṛ in a root is always strengthened to middle-grade.
- dṛ (to do, to make) → dara (activity)
- lil (to live) → lila (person; living thing)
- tṛl (to know) → tarlā (science)
-as is another common derivative, without fixed meaning, but usually denoting objects or things done by acting. It is used to derive positions from positional verbs.
- tug (to beat) → tugas (beat)
- jlitiā (jlitim-) (be to the right of) → jlitimas (right)
- āntiā (āntim-) (be above, be on) → āntimas (part above)
-ūm is another derivative without fixed meaning, overlapping with -as.
With a few roots whose vowel is -o-, -un is used instead.
- lgut (to buy) → lgutūm (something bought)
- peith (to go, walk (multidirectional)) → peithūm (walk)
- yālv (to be sweet (taste)) → yālvūm (sweet taste)
- storg (offices, factories: to be open, to work) → storgun (working hours)
-laukas is a singulative suffix, denoting either a single thing of a collective noun, or a single constituent of a broader act. Unlike the previous ones, it is most commonly applied to other nouns.
- lun (to go, walk (monodirectional)) → luṃlaukas (step)
- lil (to live) (or liloe (life)) → lillaukas (moment, instant)
- daša (rain) → dašilaukas (raindrop)
-anah, with middle-grade ablaut if possible, denotes an act or process, or something closely related to that.
- dig (to pour) → deganah ((act of) pouring)
- miš (to see) → mešanah (sight)
- lgut (to buy) → lgotanah (shopping)
-yāva with lengthening denotes a quality.
- māl (to keep together) → mālyāva (union)
- hælvē (fruit) → šaulvyāva (fertility) (morphemically //hyaulvyava//)
- blut (to clean) → blūtyāva (cleanliness)
- Lengthening is absent if the word is derived from an -aus- adjectival verb (e.g. chlærausake ((to be) easy) → chlærausyāva (easiness)) and in a few exceptions (e.g. lalla (high) → lalliyāva (highness, superiority)). taugyāva (life) has au because it's derived from taugikā (heart) and not the bare root tug (to beat).
- Inverse-ablaut roots have the reduced vowel as a prefix, much like in causative verbs (e.g. vald (to (be) open) → uvaldyāva (opening, state of being open)).
-išam has the same meaning as -yāva, but it's rarer.
- yųlniltas (edible) → yųlniltešam (edibility)
- yālv (to be sweet (taste)) → yālvišam (sweetness)
- ñailūh (ice) → ñailūvišam (coldness)
- nevy (to model, to give a form) → nevīšam (plastic) (This word underwent a meaning shift from "modellability" to a common material with that quality, replacing the derived form nevīšandhūs previously used. "Modellability" is nyavyāva in contemporary Chlouvānem.)
-āmita (-yāmita when used with nouns with thematic e or i), often with high-grade ablaut, is another suffix forming quality nouns, but it is often more abstract, being translatable with suffixes like English -ism.
- lalteh (friend (female)) → laltyāmita (friendship)
- ēmīla (tiger) → ēmīlāmita (nobility (quality); most important people in society[14])
- ñæltah (sister (male's)) → ñæltāmita (brotherhood)
-tsām (-utsām after ñ, š, and voiced stops except d(h)), with middle-grade ablaut, has various generic and sometimes unpredictable meanings, though typically instrumental.
- māl (to keep together) → māltsām (number)
- lij (to sing) → lejutsām (choir)
- dhāḍ (to speak) → dhāḍutsām (voice)
- kul (to say) → kultsām (word) (irregular lack of middle-grade ablaut)
-rṣūs (-ṛṣūs after a consonant) denotes a tool, namely something used in doing an action.
- yaud (to catch) → yaudṛṣūs (trap)
- miš (to see) → meširṣūs (eye (literary, rare))[15]
- hær (to kiss) → hærṣūs (lips (pair of))
-gis denotes something used for doing an action, not always synonymous with -rṣūs. -t-gis becomes -ñjis.
- mešīn (eye) → mešīlgis (glasses (pair of))
- tug (to beat) → tulgis (drumstick)
- lgut (to buy) → lguñjis (money, currency)
-oe (with middle-grade ablaut) often denotes a result, but has lots of various meanings.
- hal (to call) → haloe (name, noun)
- peith (to go, walk (multidirectional)) → peithoe (development; the way something is carried out)
- yųl (to eat) → yąloe (meal)
-īn plus middle grade-ablaut denotes a doer (roughly equivalent to English -er); usually it is a person, but not always.
- bhi (to take care of; to care for) → bhayīn (someone who takes care; guardian)
- tug (to beat) → togīn (heart)
- lgut (to buy) → lgotīn (buyer)
-āvi denotes something derived from X. It is also used in forming matronymics.
- lameṣa (coconut palm) → laṃṣāvi (coconut)
- mešanah (sight) → mešanąvi (knowledge)
- yųl (to eat) → yųlāvi (strength (literary, rare))
-āmis, with lengthening, means "made of X".
- tāmira (rock, stone) → tāmirāmis (stone tool)
- tarlā (knowledge, science) → tārlāmis (wisdom)
- lil (to live) → līlāmis (a blissful place)
- Words ending in a final long vowel (plus either h, s, or m) do not lengthen any vowel in a previous syllable (e.g. ñaryāh (mountain) → ñaryāmis (mountainous area)).
-ikā has various meanings, often somewhat abstract, intensive, or related to highly valued things/roles.
- daša (rain) → dāšikā (monsoon) (irregular lengthening)
- hær (to kiss) → hærikā (love (literary, rare))
- lalāruṇa (giant domestic lizard) → lalārauṇikā (knight mounting a lalāruṇa)
-dhūs means "having X".
- dara (activity) → daradhūs (verb)
- šaṇṭrās (field, soil) → šaṇṭrādhūs (countryside)
- hælvē (fruit) → hælvidhūs (fruiting tree; literary: pregnant woman)
-bān and -ūrah are two roughly equivalent suffixes used for locations. The first one is generally used after vowels, the second after consonants, but it's no strict rule.
- hælvē (fruit) → hælvēbān (orchard)
- lil (to live) → lilūrah (world)
- peith (to go, to walk (multidirectional)) → peithūrah (passage)
-(l)āṇa forms a true collective noun:
- lalteh (friend (female)) → laltelāṇa (group of friends)
- jīma (character, symbol, letter) → jīmalāṇa (writing system)
- maiva (word) → maivalāṇa (lexicon)
-(l)ænah denotes a tree or a plant having a certain fruit[16].
- haisah (pineapple) → haisænah (pineapple tree)
- maɂika (uncooked rice) → maɂikænah (rice plant)
- šikālas (prickly pear) → šikālænah (prickly pear cactus)
-yūs is used with toponyms and is one of the most common ways to form demonyms. As many of the nouns these words are derived from are proper nouns and of non-Chlouvānem origin, there are often irregular formations, e.g. using only a part of the original word.
- Līlasuṃghāṇa → līlasuṃghāṇyūs
- Cami → camiyūs
- Ajāɂilbādhi → ajāɂilbādhyūs
-(g)arim is often found with the meaning of "that has to be X"; usually, a synonymous word may be formed by -s derivation from a necessitative stem, but some -(g)arim words have their own specialized meaning:
- vvlur- (to believe) → vvlurgarim (miracle)
- miš- (to see) → mišarim (attraction) (also memikṣūs)
- tṛl- (to know, understand) → tṛlgarim (rule) (not synonymous with tartṛlsūs, meaning "needed knowledge, prerequisite")
-yai (often with lengthening) forms nouns with the meaning of "pertaining to", generally applied to nouns denoting inanimate (but usually concrete) concepts. Such nouns are found in literature with an anaphorical use.
It is commonly found in Chlouvānem surnames. In chemistry, it denotes binary compounds, usually with a dvandva stem.
- vīhatam (farm) → vīhātyai (farmer; farm's)
- svāṣṭa (armor) → svāṣṭyai (armored knight)
- bilumbida (sodium) + talyelīm (chlorine) → bilumbītalyelīyai (sodium chloride)
-ceh, -cænah, and -cañīh (all often with palatalization of the last consonant) are three different (but with roughly the same meaning) diminutive-forming suffixes; some of them have developed distinct meanings. They can also be compounded, as in -cæñ-cañīh:
- samin (child) → samiñcænah (little child)
- ēmīla (tiger) → ēmīlcañīh (cat)
- pǣka (taste) → pǣcicænah (hors d'œuvre, entrée)
Similarly, -rarā (a likely Laiputaši borrowing) is used as an augmentative, but is only found in informal styles.
- dårṣa (cool, nice) → dårṣararā (fantastic)
- jāmṝṣa (dam) → jāmṝṣararā (a huge dam)
- alūs (bottle) → alūrarā (a big bottle)
Verb-forming morphemes
Denominal verbs, in Chlouvānem, are not formed with derivational suffixes; a "light verb" is attached to the semantic root instead; the semantic root remains invariable but the light verb is conjugated (as a prefixed one). The light verb used are especially dṛke (to do, make), but also jilde (to do an action), jānake (to feel (physical)), and gyake (to be). Some examples:
- āmaya (collection) → āmayadṛke (to collect)
- språma (glue) → språñjilde (to glue)
- jålkha (cold (sensation)) → jålkhajānake (to be/feel cold)
- ñailūh (ice) → tæñailūgyake (to freeze) (note the tæ- dynamic prefix).
The other basic derived formation is the frequentative verb, formed with reduplication (with a long vowel) and -ve(y)- (-vi(y)- in the past tense[17]). -ṛ reduplicates as ṝ, but becomes a in the root.
Due to the common use of this form in modern Chlouvānem, some grammarians consider it as an inflectional category instead of a derivation. Note though that for motion verbs only multidirectional ones have a frequentative form (with iterative meaning); the multidirectionals already act as frequentative forms of the monodirectionals.
- dṛ- (to do) → dṝdave- (to repetitively do)
- na-jaly- (to happen) → najājlive- (to keep happening; to regularly happen, to occur)[18] (jaly- reduplicates as jā-jli-, with the i from the root y).
- -jaly- (to be) + various prefixes → bījājlive- (to cease to be); galajājlive- (to remain in one place; to visit; to keep being)
- tvorg- (to fear) → totvargve- (to fear over and over again) (tvo- reduplicates as to- instead of tva-).
- låvy- (to slip) → laulavive- (to slip around here and there) (-å- reduplicates as -au- and becomes a in the root).
Note that nairīveke conjugates as a frequentative verb, but is not frequentative and does not have frequentative forms.
Frequentative perfect stems have the ablauted vowel in the reduplication and a long one in the root (cf. miš-, bare frequentative mīmišve-, perfect frequentative memīšve-); both vowels are long for non-ablauted stems (cf. nāmv-, nānamve-, nānāmve-).
Inverse ablauting roots have similar rules: the bare frequentative uses the reduplication of the nonreduced root and the reduced vowel in the root itself (vald- → va-uld-ve- → voldve-); the frequentative perfect is like the normal frequentative of other verbs, with the long vowel in the reduplication only (vald- → vāvaldve-).
In many cases, frequentatives are used with an iterative meaning; the latter, if needed for disambiguation, may be specified by the particle dīdān.
Adjectival verbs
Adjectival verbs, however, do have some ways to be derived from other parts of speech.
-ūk-ke is the most common adjectival verb-forming suffix, denoting something strictly related to an object or a verb. Note that they are all thematic verbs, even if their infinitive is contracted (Archaic Chl. -ūkake → Classical and Modern -ūkke). Often they are interchangeable with the genitive form of the noun they derived from:
- avyāṣa (time) → avyāṣūkke ([to be] temporal)
- chlærūm (light) → chlærūkke (of the light)
- daša (rain) → dašūkke (rainy, concerning rain)
-uy-a-ke is a rarer variant of -ūk-ke, most commonly found for qualities related to people, but not exclusively (see third example):
- jāyim (girl) → jāyimuyake (girly, girlish)
- saṃhāram (boy) → saṃhāruyake (boyish)
- irūtākalam (atom) → irūtāruyake (atomic) (the -r is etymological from Ancient Kūṣṛmāṭhi)
-aus-a-ke (rarely -us-a-ke) forms adjectival verbs related to a quality that is applied to some object, but more abstractly related than those formed with -ūkke; sometimes they are only figurative:
- chlærūm (light) → chlærausake (easy)
- pāṇi (side) → pāṇyausake (peripheral, less important)
- namęlь (to make an effort, to apply oneself, to work harder) → namęliausake (Stakhanovite)
- Nouns ending in -ā typically only add -sь- (-si-ke):
- laikā (innocence) → laikāsike (innocent)
-nilt-a-ke translates English -able, and the circumfix uṣ- -niltake translates to "un- -able" or, sometimes, "difficult to X". The rare ñǣ- -niltake translates as "easy to X".
The uṣ- prefix has the allomorphs ū- (before voiced stops), uš- (before c and ch), and u- (before l+consonant); uṣ- plus any sibilant becomes ukṣ-.
- tṛl (to know, understand) → tṛlniltake (understandable) → uṣṭṛlniltake (uncomprehensible; difficult to understand) / ñǣtṛlniltake (easy to understand)
- yųl (to eat) → yųlniltake (edible) → uṣyųlniltake (unedible)
- lgut (to buy) → lgutniltake (buyable) → ulgutniltake (not buyable)
-ṣeni-ke (morph. seny-ke, all root verbs) translates "having X as a quality", usually added to nouns, or "X-like" in some cases; it may be synonymous with the -dhūs derivative. u- and i- stems (thus -uh, -ih, -us...) lengthen that vowel before the suffix.
- rahēlah (health) → rahēlṣenike (healthy)
- nakṣuma (music) → nakṣuṃṣenike (having a musical talent)
- meimairuh (emerald) → meimairūṣenike (emeraldine, emerald-like)
Compound verbs
Chlouvānem uses compound verbs as its main method of deriving verbs from nouns. Such "verbs" are actually a nominal root which does not decline followed by a conjugating verb. The verb used influences the meaning that the compound will have:
- dṛke (to do) is probably the most commonly used, and may have a meaning of using something (denoted by the nominal root) to treat something else (cf. bikṣurdṛke "to deodorize" < bikṣurga "deodorant"), of moving or acting like the nominal root (yināṃdṛke "to protect" < yinām "protection"), or of simply having or creating something (āmayadṛke "to collect" < āmaya "collection").
- kitte (to put) is used for a meaning of addition of the nominal root or its characteristics to something (cf. nanūkkitte "to add salt" < nanūkah "salt).
- męlike (to give) is sometimes used with the same meaning as kitte (cf. junyāmęlike "to plant flowers" < junyā "flower").
- jilde (to act) is used for subjects "emitting" or "giving off" something (cf. lāhajilde "to judge" < lāham "judgement"), also for subjects possessing (dhokajilde "to mean" < dhokam "meaning") or undergoing something (lañšijilde "to marry" < lañši (arch.) braid, wedding), and also for weather phenomena[19] (dašajilde "to rain" < daša "rain").
- gyake (to be) is used, like in one meaning of dṛke, for moving or acting like the nominal root. Typically, it is more for states than actions (the prototypical and most common example is pṛšcāṃgyake "to be pleasing" < pṛšcām "something pleasing"[20]).
- jānake (to feel) has a meaning partially overlapping with gyake (and dṛke), particularly marking the "feeling" of a (usually uncontrollable) condition (jålkhajānake "to be cold" < jålkha "cold").
- milke (to take) has a varied range of meaning: getting or gathering something (vīrādhmilke "to adopt" < vīrādhen "orphan"; mailьlut(a)milke "to take advantage" < mailьluta "advantage"), also the opposite, taking something away (cf. rantamilke "to peel (fruits)" < rantas "peel"), and also overlapping partially with kitte and męlike in marking the addition of something or, more, properly, the act of bringing something (prātamilke "to get windy; (figur.) to accelerate" < prātas "wind" - cf. prātajilde "to be windy").
- bismilke (to take away) and bīdṛke (to destroy) are used, more commonly than milke, for the meaning of removing or taking something away: (ssūbismilke "to calm down" < ssūgis "something that worries"; lilembīdṛke "(euphem.) to kill" < liloe "life").
Sometimes, the most meaningful element of a compound verb is not otherwise found as a standalone word in Chlouvānem, as in pṛšcāṃjalle (to like), or hārlājmęlike (to prefer).
Prefixes
Prefixes are a major part of Chlouvānem derivational morphology. Most of them are the same as for positional and motion verbs — for their formation and use, see the related section. Most prefixes are used with verbs, and are found with nouns only in derived forms; some of them, however, can be used also or exclusively with nouns and adjectives. Prefixes derive usually from Proto-Lahob, but a few chiefly nominal ones are from Ancient Kūṣṛmāthi words.
Here follows a complete list of all prefixes used in Chlouvānem and their meaning. When two prefixes are divided by a wave dash, the first is lative and the second is ablative; NOM marks meanings of nouns derived with that prefix.
Positional and motional prefixes
- ta- 〜 tų- - generic direction
- ān- 〜 yana- - on, above
- šu- 〜 šer- - under, below
- khl- 〜 kel- - between
- gin- 〜 ją- - among
- nī- 〜 ani- - within/from within inside
- ū(b)- 〜 yom- - close to
- bis- 〜 bara- - far, away
- tad- (tata- before l) 〜 tasi- - attached to; against
- įs- 〜 hos- - hanging
- na(ñ)- 〜 neni- - inside
- kau- 〜 kuvi- - outside
- viṣ- 〜 vyeṣa- - opposite; somewhere else
- kami- 〜 kįla- - around
- pri- 〜 paro- - behind
- mai- 〜 mīram- - in front of
- vai- 〜 vǣ- - in a corner; bordering; at the limit
- sāṭ- 〜 ṣlū- - next to; along; on the side of
- lā(d)- 〜 lo(d)- - in the center of
- vyā- 〜 veši- - left
- māha- 〜 mege- - right
- pid- - facing (positional only)
- nal- - towards the center; inwards; convergent movement
- vād- - away from the center; outwards; divergent movement
Motional prefixes
- be- 〜 ter- - along the surface
- gala- 〜 hali- - through, across
- naš- - completely, until the end; NOM: omni-, pan-, entirely
- vod- - avoiding
- paṣ- - ahead, beyond; also NOM: further, again, re-
- sam- - movement to the following place/person/object in a set; NOM: after, post-
Verbal-only prefixes
- tæ(m)- - inceptive/inchoative
- raš- - to do something a bit more than needed (ral- or rar- before voiced consonants)
- yā- - too much
- iva- - completely, also intensive
- nare- - applicative (nar- before another prefix, cf. the common form narta- for "to reach"-verbs)
- min- - transitivizer of intransitive verbs
Other prefixes
- o- - before, pre-, proto-, preceding (os- before vowels)
- tail- - multi-, pluri-
- emib(u)- or tūt(u)- - one, mono-, uni-, homo-
- lani- - same, fellow
- vre- - bad
- demi- - self-
Specific terms
Derivational terms considered "specific" are those mostly found in certain jargons. Some of these are applied directly to a Lällshag root instead of a Chlouvānem one:
Used in politics and/or the arts:
- -nædani has two main meanings: -ism (as in a doctrine) in a political sense, and -esque in the arts, cf. yaivcārṇædani "communism" (< yaiva "all", cār- "to have"), or lanæmyainædani "in the style of writer Naryejūramāvi Lanæmyai Mæmihomah".
- -nædǣnah is the term for a person that follows such a doctrine or style, cf. yaivcārṇædǣnah "communist"; lanæmyainædǣnah "someone whose writing is Lanæmyaiësque".
- Note that lija and lejīn (lit. "song" and "singer") were formerly alternatives to these. They notably remain in nāɂahilūṃlija "politico-religious doctrine inspired by Great Inquisitor Kælahīmāvi Nāɂahilūma Martayinām; Yunyalīlti religious extremism" and nāɂahilūṃlejīn, as well as in arāmilija "pacifism".
Used for medical terminology:
- -gulas usually translates "-philia" or "-mania", particularly in medical contexts, e.g. ryukagulas "masochism" from ryuka "pain".
- -gulašålyē is the related term for someone who has that (thus "-philiac" or "-maniac"), e.g. ryukagulašålyē "masochist".
- -ræṣka is a generic term used in medicine for names of illnesses or conditions affecting health, e.g. nalekiræṣka "obesity" from Lällshag naleki "fat"; vrayegårlæṣka "dysphagia" (note dissimilation of -rr-) from vre- (bad) and egåram (stomach).
- -ræṣkanis is the term for someone affected by a -ræṣka, e.g. nalekiræṣkanis "obese", vrayegårlæṣkanis "dysphagic".
- -ītsun is a rarer alternative to -ræṣka, e.g. vrayobulītsun "asplenia" (vre- (bad) + obula (spleen)), or lagukītsun "paralysis" (the latter with the root of Lällshag gahoke (still)).
- -ītsunis is the corresponding term for affected organisms, e.g. vrayobulītsunis "aspleniac", lagukītsunis "paralyzed".
- -yūtan is used for inflammatory diseases, cf. "-itis", like ṇīṭyūtan (dermatitis) or āḍhyāsnūliyūtan (meningitis).
Compounding
- tarlā (knowledge) is used as the head element of compounds, with a meaning like -logy in English. Sometimes the meaning is only abstracted (see second example) or has changed with time (see third example):
- babhrām (land) → babhrātarlā (geography)
- smoḍ- (to count, to enumerate) → smoṇḍarlā (mathematics)
- ladragyalah (inn) → ladragyaltarlā (economics)
See also
Notes
- ^ These are the remnants of a former gender system present in Proto-Lahob, still evident in other Lahob languages; unlike others in the family, Chlouvānem did not become genderless because of losing gender marking on nouns, but because it lost concordance anywhere else.
- ^ e.g. læti, sorami…
- ^ It also survives as a morpheme in some words, most notably ṣarivāṇa "state, country".
- ^ tane is a colloquial contraction of dām (interrogative particle) and nane (emphatic tag question particle).
- ^ A kaleya is a "spiritual friend" in Chlouvānem culture — this word can be translated with "best friend", but it also evokes particular religious meanings.
- ^ Many head monks have their own unique titles based on their monastery. For example the head monk of the Vādhaṃšvāti Lake Monastery is not referred as […] hurdagīn lāma vādhaṃšvāti ga gūltayi but as […] laliājuniāmiti jāṇi camilālta lāma, literally "Great Guardian of the Field of the Night Bloom".
- ^ nęlte has the stem nęlc- wherever the others have -ny-, -vy-, i.e. accusatives danyu, pāmvyu, nęlcu.
- ^ chīka has the stem chīcæ- before consonants.
- ^ pāmvi is unchanged; nęlte has the form nęlci.
- ^ tītya has tītei.
- ^ cf. ūtarṇ- "heavy" and ūṭrus "load"
- ^ Language of an ethnic minority (but titular ethnicity) in the diocese of Hūnakañjaiṭa.
- ^ Synchronically, this analysis is correct; however, this word was likely first crafted as a tatpuruṣa, i.e. "a fire for food" (yųlgis nali javyāh), before kitchens were rooms.
- ^ Chlouvānem society lacked a true noble class; this term applies to the most influential people in society. Tigers are considered among the noblest animals.
- ^ Middle-grade ablaut is specific to this root.
- ^ As for all living things, being Calémere a different planet, the given translation is the one of the closest equivalent on Earth.
- ^ Ex.: dṝdaveyute "I repetitively do" vs. dṝdaviyaute "I repetitively did"
- ^ The verb "to happen" does not exist as an iterative.
- ^ Rain, specifically, is more commonly used as the subject of the verb buñjñake, meaning "to run" for water (in Chl. rain runs just like a river does).
- ^ The word pṛšcām alone is almost never used in contemporary Chlouvānem.