Togarmite

Togarmite/Lexicon

Togarmite/Swadesh list

דף זה בעברית

Togarmite
yn Tėrmit
Pronunciation	[/ən thermith/]
Created by	–
Setting	Irta
Language family	Afro-Asiatic Semitic Northwest Semitic Old Togarmite Togarmite

Togarmite or Thermite (yn Tėrmit /ən θermiθ/ or yn lysėn Tėrmi) is a "stem-Canaanite" Semitic language. It is inspired by Hebrew, Lithuanian, Germanic languages (particularly Icelandic), Greek and Alashian, another stem-Canaanite conlang.

Modern Togarmite retains the Semitic root-and-pattern morphology of Old Togarmite, but has undergone some phonological and grammatical restructuring, taking features of the Turkey-Northern Levant-Iranian sprachbund, in common with L-Persian, Padmanābha and English:

• loss of grammatical gender
• loss of the passive binyanim
• loss of the suffix conjugation except in a few verbs
• the use of the w-form (inherited from the Old Togarmite waw-consecutive) for the present progressive, mirroring English -ing < PIE *-nd-kwe
• the development of a productive concatenative verb paradigm used to form verbs from other words, analogous to Germanic weak verbs

Todo

• Dalet tet tav > ð d t (d = /d~t/, t aspirated)
  • hað, šnejn, šlėš, arva3, mes, setš, sev3e, šmėn, teš3e, 3ešre
• Should have initial w- > j- like Hebrew and Aramaic
• Should be western European?
• A few verbs derived from historical passive binyanim, analogized so they're weak verbs
• Gzarot
• Syntax
• Declensions
• Lots of triconsonantified Greek words
• A bit more arabic isoglosses / semantic shifts in a general Arabic direction
• Much less of an English relex: more consistent do-support, progressive forms used for imperfectives and VSO as in Welsh? Most "Englishy" bits should be literal translations of idioms, phrasal verbs and pragmatics, loss of grammatical gender, intense dialectal mixing in the early modern period with what appears to be occasional random unpredictable changes, and some vocabulary and affixes
• Relex Modern Greek in places where it differs grammatically from English: yn before proper names?
• Prepositional pronouns
• more binyanim like syfȝel, asøfȝel, þasøfȝel and þystyfȝel?
• Taxonomic names get calqued into Greek
• CiCV:C > CyCVC, CaCV:C > CCVC

History

The Old Togarmite name for the language, Θėgarmīθ, is thought to have been borrowed from a pre-Togarmite source *Tāgarma. The name Togarmah from the same source is also attested in the Hebrew Bible. (The Greeks and the Romans called the Togarmite people Θηγαρμικοί and Thegarmici respectively.) The name of the language shows the Togarmite shift of Proto-Semitic ā to ė /e:/, mirroring the Canaanite shift ā > ō occuring in its close relative Hebrew.

Phonology

Consonants

Togarmite has 24 consonants, 22 of them inherited from Proto-Semitic. It gained /p=/ during the Old Togarmite stage by adapting loans from Greek, Aramaic and Persian, e.g. barkes 'to act', from Ancient Greek praxis. It also merged Old Togarmite ħ /ħ/ and h /h/ into h /h/, OTog č /tʃ/, j and ž into ž. /tʃ/ is now found in more recent loans, mostly from Greek, Latin and English.

• m n /m n/
• b d g ' /p= t= k= ʔ/
• t k /th kh/
• v ð γ /v ð γ/
• f s š x h /f θ s ʃ x h/
• z ž ȝ /z ʒ (Philly L)/
• c č /ts= tʃ=/
• w l r j /w l r j/

þ may be an unaspirated dental stop. d may be dental in some dialects.

Vowels

Modern Togarmite has 9 vowels in stressed syllables.

a e ė i o ø u y /ɑ ɛ e i o ø u (ə)/

ei au /ɛi ɔu/

Contrastive vowel length is present from elision of h in colloquial Togarmite: møþyhanan = [mø'θa:nan] instead of /møθə'hanan/

Stress

Stress in native words is on the first syllable after the last non-word-final y.

Orthography

In addition to the Hebrew, Latin and Avestan alphabets, Togarmite uses an abugida (a form of cursive linear Hangul) based on the Phoenician alphabet, called yn albėþ (after the first 2 letters).

The abjadi letter names: al, bėþ, gam, dal, hė, wau, zėn, žėn, tėþ, jød, xaf, lam, mėm, nun, ȝėn, fė, pė, cad, čad, køf, rėš, sin, šin, þau

Traditional Romanization

The traditional romanization of Togarmite is very unphonetic.

• aCe for ė
• English style unetymological OSL gone crazy
• the orthography should also be templatic, gemination in weird places i.e. not necessarily related to Old Togarmite gemination
• two scripts, Latin and Greek? works like hiragana and kanji
• v for the vowel /ø/!

Dialects

Ethiopian dialect

some different vocab e.g. þėþ instead of wyhėb for 'give', døbrėn instead of þėma for 'topic'

some words can have different meanings in Ethiopian and Levantine leading to some funny misunderstandings

phonological differences ("ear" -> ødny)

a e ė i o ø u y [a e̞ ɛi i ɔ ɵ u (ə)]
ei au [ɒi ø:~øo]

a broad Ethiopian accent in Togarmite has random variation in some words like heno, šamo, šydo etc are pronounced hena, šama, šyda

-an -> -en is common in a broad Ethiopian accent (darxan -> darxen); this should typically happen only with agentives, otherwise møsaxen / møsaxan would be mixed up (that would be one of the telltale signs of a non-Ethiopian faking an accent)

Indian dialect

a e ė i o ø u y /a: e~ɪ ɛ: i o: ʊ u: ə/
ei au /ai ɔ:/

New World dialect

a e ė i o ø u y /a e ɪə i o ø u ə/ ei au /ɛi ɔu/

Pronouns

Personal

Modern Togarmite pronouns work similarly to modern Hebrew pronouns. The accusative pronouns derive from inflected foms of Old Togarmite ʔiθ (emphasis particle and accusative, related to Hebrew et and Arabic iyya-). The possessive pronouns are derived from inflected forms of Old Togarmite la-. The reflexive pronouns come from inflected forms of af 'nose'.

The semantics of hu, hi and že work like in West Country English. (Clarify)

	I	thou (m.)	thou (f.)	he	she	it	we	you (pl, polite)	they
Nominative/Conjunctive	nėx	aþ	eþ	hu	hi	že	nan	aþøm	høm
Objective/Disjunctive	þi	þax	þex	þau	þa	þež	þanė	þaxøm	þaum
Possessive	li	lax	lex	lau	la	lež	lanė	laxøm	laum
Reflexive/Intensive	afi	afax	afex	afau	afa	afež	afnė	afxøm	afaum

The plural pronouns aþøm and høm can be used as gender-neutral pronouns in the singular, like English they.

Demonstrative

	who?	what?	which?	where?	whither?	whence?	when?	how?	why?	how much?
this	žinė (sg); elinė (pl)			hė	heno	me hė	ȝeþo	hėx	ež	xėrab
that	ži (sg); eli (pl)			šam	šamo	me šam	šøm
what	man	ma	ėjo	ein	eino	men ein	møran	xeix	maž	xma, marby
all; every	xølšar	xølbar; xøl	xøl	xølein	xøleino	me xølein	xølam	xøl ør	-	-
any	nuxšar	nuxbar	nux	nuxein	nuxeino	me nuxein	xølam	nux ør	me nux sebt	-
some	bilšar	bilbar	bil	bilein	bileino	me bilein	ly zman; bil zman	bil ør	me bil sebt	-
none	lėmšar	lėmbar	lėm	lėmein	lėmeino	me lėmein	lėfȝam	lėm ør	me lėm sebt	-

Demonstratives come after nouns.

• beiþ žinė 'this house'
• kawi eli 'those lines'

Nouns

In some ways declension has simplified: Like Cubrite, Modern Togarmite has lost grammatical gender. The construct state has been lost, and the Old Togarmite definite state ʔan- has been reanalyzed as a separate definite article yn. Yn becomes ym before /m p b/.

However, declension has become more complicated in other ways. For example, Modern Togarmite has innovated more declension paradigms.

Regular declension

Most nouns have a regular plural in -i, from a conflation of Middle Togarmite absolute -in and construct -ė.

Example: ȝėlam 'world'

ȝėlam 'world'

	singular	plural
indefinite	ȝėlam	ȝėlami

lysėn 'language'

	singular	plural
indefinite	lysėn	lysėni

Segolates

These nouns come from CVCC nouns in Proto-Semitic and thus are related to segolates in Hebrew.

xalb 'dog'

	singular	plural
indefinite	xalb	xlabi

Nisba nouns

An important declension class is comprised of nouns with the nisba suffix -i:

þėgami 'Togarmite'

	singular	plural
indefinite	þėgami	þėgamin

Singulative-collective nouns

These nouns have a marked singular in -t.

šeȝart '(strand of) hair'

	singular	plural
indefinite	šeȝart	šeȝar

Former feminines

This class consists of nouns that were feminine in Old Togarmite, which typically end in -t or -þ and take a plural in -ėþ:

friþ 'fruit'

	singular	plural
indefinite	friþ	frijėþ

galt 'door' (altered from *dalt)

	singular	plural
indefinite	galt	glatėþ

þyxþøbt 'document'

	singular	plural
indefinite	þyxþøbt	þyxþøbėþ

-a nouns

These are mainly Greek and Aramaic words.

apoloža 'excuse (pretext)'

	singular	plural
indefinite	apoloža	apoložes

Greek ending in -ma can have a plural in -mata:

þėma 'topic'

	singular	plural
indefinite	þėma	þėmes / þėmata

By analogy, even native words ending in -a are declined this way:

heta 'sin'

	singular	plural
indefinite	heta	hetes

Irregulars

bennės 'human'

	singular	plural
indefinite	bennės	nės

ašt 'woman'

	singular	plural
indefinite	ašt	nysi

Adjectives

Adjectives do not decline.

Degree

Adjectives have a comparative form in yn-/ym- and a superlative in xøl-:

• yn-xbur = bigger
• xølxbur = biggest

A dedicated particle šøm (cognate to Arabic þumma) is used for 'than'.

Verbs

• Past = (eroded) suffix conjugation that became analogized with the prefix present
  • The y- prefix is only used when the verb directly follows the subject pronoun: nėx yxþøb 'I wrote', nėx lė xþøb 'I didn't write'.
• Present = from the bare w-form
• Imperative
  • The imperative is negated with al: Xþøb! 'write!', Al xþøb! 'don't write!'
• w-form = w + stem from the 3ms suffix conjugation in the f3øl binyan, past tense but with w- for the prefix in other binyanim
• Infinitive
• Participles
• Progressive lu from *ȝalė-hu, c.f. wrthi in Welsh

The suffix conjugation does not survive unlike in most other Semitic languages, except in certain irregular verbs like fė 'to be'.

The citation form is the 2nd person singular imperative.

Binyanim

Modern Togarmite inherits all 8 binyanim of Old Togarmite. The þy- of Binyan 7 (þyfaȝel) verbs has become a productive derivational prefix, however.

Binyan 1: fȝøl

This binyan can take -ø- (e.g. xþøb 'to write'), -e- (sen 'to sleep') or -a- (tȝam 'to choose') as the theme vowel.

Binyan 1 conjugation: xþøb 'write'

→ Person ↓ Tense	1sg	2sg	3sg	1pl	2pl	3pl
past; conditional	nėx yxþøb	aþ/eþ yxþøb	hu/hi xþøb	nan xþøb	aþøm xþøb	høm xþøb
past imperfective; past subjunctive	nėx fiþ wyxþab	aþ/eþ fiþ wyxþab	hu/hi fė wyxþab	nan fu wyxþab	aþøm fu wyxþab	høm fu wyxþab
present	nėx wyxþab	aþ/eþ wyxþab	hu/hi wyxþab	nan wyxþab	aþøm wyxþab	høm wyxþab
present progressive	nėx lu wyxþab	aþ/eþ lu wyxþab	hu/hi lu wyxþab	nan lu wyxþab	aþøm lu wyxþab	høm lu wyxþab
present subjunctive	nėx yxþøban	aþ/eþ yxþøban	hu/hi xþøban	nan xþøban	aþøm xþøban	høm xþøban
future	nėx bė xþėb	aþ/eþ bė xþėb	hu bė xþėb	nan bė xþėb	aþøm bė xþėb	høm bė xþėb
perfect	li xþub	lax/lex xþub	lau/la xþub	lanė xþub	laxøm xþub	laum xþub
imperative	xþøb!
active participle	xėþeb
passive participle	xþub
w-form	wyxþab
infinitive	xþėb

Binyan 1 conjugation: num 'sleep'

→ Person ↓ Tense	1sg	2sg	3sg	1pl	2pl	3pl
past; conditional	nėx ynum	aþ/eþ ynum	hu/hi num	nan num	aþøm num	høm num
past progressive; past subjunctive	nėx fiþ wynaum	aþ/eþ fiþ wynaum	hu/hi fė wynaum	nan fu wynaum	aþøm fu wynaum	høm fu wynaum
present	nėx wynaum	aþ/eþ wynaum	hu/hi wynaum	nan wynaum	aþøm wynaum	høm wynaum
present progressive	nėx lu wynaum	aþ/eþ lu wynaum	hu/hi lu wynaum	nan lu wynaum	aþøm lu wynaum	høm lu wynaum
present subjunctive	nėx ynuman	aþ/eþ ynuman	hu/hi numan	nan numan	aþøm numan	høm numan
future	nėx bė nwėm	aþ/eþ bė nwėm	hu/hi bė nwėm	nan bė nwėm	aþøm bė nwėm	høm bė nwėm
perfect	li num	lax/lex num	lau/la num	lanė num	laxøm num	laum num
imperative	num!
active participle	nėwem
passive participle	num
w-form	wynaum
infinitive	nwėm

Binyan 2: faȝel

This binyan comes from the Proto-Semitic D-stem (related to Hebrew pi33el and Arabic fa33ala)

Binyan 2 conjugation: saxen 'inhabit'

→ Person ↓ Tense	1sg	2sg	3sg	1pl	2pl	3pl
past; conditional	nėx ysaxen	aþ/eþ ysaxen	hu/hi saxen	nan saxen	aþøm saxen	høm saxen
past progressive; past subjunctive	nėx fiþ wysaxen	aþ/eþ fiþ wysaxen	hu/hi fė wysaxen	nan fu wysaxen	aþøm fu wysaxen	høm fu wysaxen
present	nėx wysaxen	aþ/eþ wysaxen	hu/hi wysaxen	nan wysaxen	aþøm wysaxen	høm wysaxen
present progressive	nėx lu wysaxen	aþ/eþ lu wysaxen	hu/hi lu wysaxen	nan lu wysaxen	aþøm lu wysaxen	høm lu wysaxen
present subjunctive	nėx ysaxenan	aþ/eþ ysaxenan	hu/hi saxenan	nan saxenan	aþøm saxenan	høm saxenan
future	nėx bė saxun	aþ bė saxun	hu bė saxun	nan bė saxun	aþøm bė saxun	høm bė saxun
perfect	li møsaxan	lax/lex møsaxan	lau/la møsaxan	lanė møsaxan	laxøm møsaxan	laum møsaxan
imperative	saxen!
active participle	møsaxen
passive participle	møsaxan
w-form	wysaxen
infinitive	saxun

For 4-letter verbs such as parkes 'to act', the present tense is formed with the stem -C₁C₂ėC₃eC₄, like nėx yprėkes 'I act'.

Binyan 3: fėȝel

Binyan 3 conjugation: dėber 'speak'

→ Person ↓ Tense	1sg	2sg	3sg	1pl	2pl	3pl
past; conditional	nėx ydėber	aþ/eþ ydėber	hu/hi dėber	nan dėber	aþøm dėber	høm dėber
past progressive; past subjunctive	nėx fiþ wydėber	aþ/eþ fiþ wydėber	hu/hi fė wydėber	nan fu wydėber	aþøm fu wydėber	høm fu wydėber
present	nėx wydėber	aþ/eþ wydėber	hu/hi wydėber	nan wydėber	aþøm wydėber	høm wydėber
present subjunctive	nėx ydėberan	aþ/eþ ydėberan	hu/hi dėberan	nan dėberan	aþøm dėberan	høm dėberan
future	nėx bė dėbur	aþ bė dėbur	hu bė dėbur	nan bė dėbur	aþøm bė dėbur	høm bė dėbur
perfect	li mødėbar	lax/lex mødėbar	lau/la mødėbar	lanė mødėbar	laxøm mødėbar	laum mødėbar
imperative	-	dėber!	-	-	dėberu!	-
active participle	mødėber
passive participle	mødėbar
w-form	wydėber
infinitive	dėbur

Binyan 4: afȝel

This binyan comes from the Proto-Semitic Š-stems thus corresponds to Hebrew hif3il and Arabic ʔaf3ala.

Binyan 3 conjugation: ažxer 'remind'

→ Person ↓ Tense	1sg	2sg	3sg	1pl	2pl	3pl
past; conditional	nėx ažxer	aþ/eþ ažxer	hu/hi ažxer	nan ažxer	aþøm ažxer	høm ažxer
past progressive; past subjunctive	fiti wažxer	fit wažxer	fė wažxer	finė wažxer	fitøm wažxer	fu wažxer
present	nėx ažėxer	aþ/eþ ažėxer	hu/hi ažėxer	nan ažėxer	aþøm ažėxeru	høm ažėxeru
present progressive	nėx še wažxer	aþ/eþ še wažxer	hu/hi še wažxer	nan še wažxer	aþøm šu wažxer	høm šu wažxer
present subjunctive	nėx ažxeran	aþ/eþ ažxeran	hu/hi ažxeran	nan ažxeran	aþøm ažxeran	høm ažxeran
future	nėx bė hažxur	aþ bė hažxur	hu bė hažxur	nan bė hažxur	aþøm bė hažxur	høm bė hažxur
perfect	li mažxar	lax/lex mažxar	lau/la mažxar	lanė mažxar	laxøm mažxar	laum mažxar
imperative	ažxer!
active participle	mažxer
passive participle	mažxar
w-form	wažxer
infinitive	ažxur

Binyan 5: ftyȝel

This binyan comes from the Proto-Semitic t-stem and shares similarities with the Hebrew binyan hitpa33el and Arabic ifta3ala. It is characterized by the þ- prefix that comes from the *t infix.

Meanings:

• reflexive
• reciprocal

The prefix þ metathesizes with C1 when

• C1 = f x s š c h z ž ȝ: þf þx þs þš þh þz þž þȝ > ft xt st št ct ht zd žd ȝd
• C1 = d t þ: þd þt þþ > d t þ

Binyan 4 conjugation: þlymed 'find one's way around'

→ Person ↓ Tense	1sg	2sg	3sg	1pl	2pl	3pl
past; conditional	nėx yþlymed	aþ/eþ yþlymed	hu/hi þlymed	nan þlymed	aþøm þlymed	høm þlymed
past progressive; past subjunctive	fiti wyþlymed	fit wyþlymed	fė wyþlymed	finė wyþlymed	fitøm wyþlymed	fu wyþlymed
present	nėx yþlėmed	aþ/eþ yþlėmed	hu/hi þlėmed	nan þlėmed	aþøm þlėmed	høm þlėmed
present progressive	nėx še wyþlymed	aþ/eþ še wyþlymed	hu/hi še wyþlymed	nan še wyþlymed	aþøm šu wyþlymed	høm šu wyþlymed
present subjunctive	nėx yþlymedan	aþ/eþ yþlymedan	hu/hi þlymedan	nan þlymedan	aþøm þlymedan	høm þlymedan
future	nėx bė hyþlymud	aþ bė hyþlymud	hu bė hyþlymud	nan bė hyþlymud	aþøm bė hyþlymud	høm bė hyþlymud
perfect	li møþlymad	lax/lex møþlymad	lau/la møþlymad	lanė møþlymad	laxøm møþlymad	laum møþlymad
imperative	yþlymed!
active participle	møþlymed
passive participle	møþlymad
w-form	wyþlymėd
infinitive	hyþlymud

Binyan 6: eþyfȝel

This binyan comes from the Nt-stem, with the mediopassive n- marker and the reflexive/reciprocal t-marker: the stem comes from *intap3il. cf. Hebrew nitpa33el, a variant of the hitpa33el binyan and the Arabic infa3ala binyan.

Binyan 5 conjugation: eþygdel 'grow up'

→ Person ↓ Tense	1sg	2sg	3sg	1pl	2pl	3pl
past; conditional	nėx eþygdel	aþ/eþ eþygdel	hu/hi eþygdel	nan eþygdel	aþøm eþygdel	høm eþygdel
past progressive; past subjunctive	fiti weþygdel	fit weþygdel	fė weþygdel	finė weþygdel	fitøm weþygdel	fu waþygdel
present	nėx eþygėdel	aþ/eþ eþygėdel	hu/hi eþygėdel	nan eþygėdel	aþøm eþygėdelu	høm eþygėdelu
present progressive	nėx še weþygdel	aþ/eþ še weþygdel	hu/hi še weþygdel	nan še weþygdel	aþøm šu weþygdel	høm šu weþygdel
present subjunctive	nėx eþygdelan	aþ/eþ eþygdelan	hu/hi eþygdelan	nan eþygdelan	aþøm eþygdelan	høm eþygdelan
future	nėx bė heþygdul	aþ bė heþygdul	hu bė heþygdul	nan bė heþygdul	aþøm bė heþygdul	høm bė heþygdul
perfect	li meþygdal	lax/lex meþygdal	lau/la meþygdal	lanė meþygdal	laxøm meþygdal	laum meþygdal
imperative	-	heþygdel!	-	-	heþygdelu!	-
active participle	meþygdel
passive participle	meþygdal
w-form	waþygdel
infinitive	heþygdul

Binyan 8: styfȝel

This binyan comes from the Št-stem and is directly related to the binyan istaf3ala in Arabic and the very rare binyan hishtaf3el in Biblical Hebrew. Binyan 7 tends to form verbs involving conscious decision.

Binyan 8 conjugation: stytȝem 'try out'

→ Person ↓ Tense	1sg	2sg	3sg	1pl	2pl	3pl
past; conditional	nėx ystytȝem	aþ/eþ ystytȝem	hu/hi stytȝem	nan stytȝem	aþøm stytȝem	høm stytȝem
past progressive; past subjunctive	fiti wystytȝem	fit wystytȝem	fė wystytȝem	finė wystytȝem	fitøm wystytȝem	fu wystytȝem
present	nėx ystytėȝem	aþ/eþ ystytėȝem	hu/hi stytėȝem	nan stytėȝem	aþøm stytėȝem	høm stytėȝem
present progressive	nėx še wystytȝem	aþ/eþ še wystytȝem	hu/hi še wystytȝem	nan še wystytȝem	aþøm šu wystytȝem	høm šu wystytȝem
present subjunctive	nėx ystytȝeman	aþ/eþ ystytȝeman	hu/hi stytȝeman	nan stytȝeman	aþøm stytȝemun	jystytȝemun
future	nėx bė stytȝum	aþ bė stytȝum	hu bė stytȝum	nan bė stytȝum	aþøm bė stytȝum	høm bė stytȝum
perfect	li møstytȝam	lax/lex møstytȝam	lau/la møstytȝam	lanė møstytȝam	laxøm møstytȝam	laum møstytȝam
imperative	-	stytȝem!	-	-	stytȝemu!	-
active participle	møstytȝem
passive participle	møstytȝam
w-form	wystytȝem
infinitive	stytȝum

Concatenative verbs

The concatenative paradigm, analogous to Germanic weak verbs, is formed by adding prefixes and suffixes, without changing the stem. The past and imperative forms are formed by adding -i or -ji to the noun, when no other suffix is added.

It is used for recent loan verbs like maksimezi 'to maximize', but can also be used to derive verbs from native nouns:

• mydrasi 'to school' (from mydras 'school')
• þaxili 'to consume' (from þaxil 'consumption', itself from the root √ʔ-x-l 'to eat')
• žaxoji 'to entitle, to allow' (from žaxo 'right')
• ȝeini 'to eye' (from ȝein 'eye')

The endings are mainly derived from Middle Togarmite forms of 3-y verbs.

• [STEM]-i = active
• þy-[STEM]-i = re-
• mø- = active participle
• -ėþ = infinitive

Weak verb conjugation: mydrasi 'to school'

→ Person ↓ Tense	1sg	2sg	3sg	1pl	2pl	3pl
past; conditional	nėx ymydrasi	aþ/eþ ymydrasi	hu/hi mydrasi	nan mydrasi	aþøm mydrasi	høm mydrasi
past progressive; past subjunctive	fiti wymydrasi	fit wymydrasi	fė wymydrasi	finė wymydrasi	fitøm wymydrasi	fu wymydrasi
present	nėx wymydrasi	aþ/eþ wymydrasi	hu/hi wymydrasi	nan wymydrasi	aþøm wymydrasi	høm wymydrasi
present progressive	nėx lu wymydrasi	aþ/eþ lu wymydrasi	hu/hi lu wymydrasi	nan lu wymydrasi	aþøm lu wymydrasi	høm lu wymydrasi
present subjunctive	nėx ymydrasan	aþ/eþ ymydrasan	hu/hi mydrasan	nan mydrasan	aþøm mydrasun	høm mydrasun
future	nėx bė mydrasėþ	aþ bė mydrasėþ	hu bė mydrasėþ	nėbu mydrasėþ	aþøm bė mydrasėþ	høm bė mydrasėþ
perfect	li mømydrasa	lax/lex mømydrasa	lau/la mømydrasa	lanė mømydrasa	laxøm mømydrasa	laum mømydrasa
imperative	mydrasi!
active participle	mømydrasė
passive participle	mydrasa
w-form	wymydrasi
infinitive	mydrasėþ

fe 'to be'

The verb fe 'to be' is perhaps the most irregular verb of the language; it uses the Proto-Semitic suffix conjugation in the past tense.

fe 'to be'

→ Person ↓ Tense	1sg	2sg	3sg	1pl	2pl	3pl
past; conditional	nėx fiþ	aþ fiþ	hu fė	nan fu	aþøm fu	høm fu
past progressive; past subjunctive	nėx fiþ fė	aþ fiþ fė	hu fė fė	nan fu fė	aþøm fu fė	høm fu fė
present	(nėx)	(aþ/eþ)	(hu/hi)	(nan)	(aþøm)	(høm)
present progressive	nėx lu fė	aþ/eþ lu fė	hu/hi lu fė	nan lu fė	aþøm lu fė	høm lu fė
present subjunctive	nėx yfijan	aþ yfijan	hu fijan	nan fijan	aþøm fijan	høm fijan
future	nėx bė fėþ	aþ bė fėþ	hu bė fėþ	nan bė fėþ	aþøm bė fėþ	høm bė fėþ
imperative	fe!
active participle	hėwi
passive participle	fuj
w-form	fė
infinitive	fėþ

xėl 'can'

xėl 'can'

→ Person ↓ Tense	1sg	2sg	3sg	1pl	2pl	3pl
past; conditional	nėx yxel	aþ/eþ yxel	hu/hi xel	nan xel	aþøm xel	høm xel
past subjunctive	nėx fiþ wėxel	aþ fiþ wėxel	hu fė wėxel	nan fu wėxel	aþøm fu wėxel	høm fu wėxel
present	nėx wėxel	aþ wėxel	hu wėxel	nan wėxel	aþøm wėxel	høm wėxel
present subjunctive	nėx yxelan	aþ/eþ yxelan	hu/hi xelan	nan xelan	aþøm xelan	høm xelan
future	nėx bė xėl	aþ bė xėl	hu bė xėl	nan bė xėl	aþøm bė xėl	høm bė xėl
active participle	-
passive participle	fuj wėxel
w-form	wėxel
infinitive	xėl

høbė 'should; ought'

høba 'should; ought'

→ Person ↓ Tense	1sg	2sg	3sg	1pl	2pl	3pl
past	nėx fiþ høbė	aþ fiþ høbė	hu fė høbė	nan fu høbu	aþøm fu høbu	høm fu høbu
present	nėx høbė	aþ/eþ høbė	hu/hi høbė	nan høbu	aþøm høbu	høm høbu

ryšė 'to like'

ryšė 'to like'

→ Person ↓ Tense	1sg	2sg	3sg	1pl	2pl	3pl
past; conditional	nėx yrši	aþ yrši	hu yrši	nan yršu	aþøm yršu	høm yršu
past subjunctive	nėx fiþ wyrši	aþ fiþ wyrši	hu fė wyrši	nan fu wyrši	aþøm fu wyrši	høm fu wyrši
present	nėx ryšė	aþ/eþ ryšė	hu/hi ryšė	nan ryšu	aþøm ryšu	høm ryšu
future	nėx bė ryšėþ	aþ bė ryšėþ	hu bė ryšėþ	nan bė ryšėþ	aþøm bė ryšėþ	høm bė ryšėþ
w-form	wyrši
active participle	rėši
passive participle	ryšuj
infinitive	ryšėþ

sėr 'to want'

sėr 'to want'

→ Person ↓ Tense	1sg	2sg	3sg	1pl	2pl	3pl
past; conditional	nėx sør	aþ sør	hu sør	nan sru	aþøm sru	høm sru
past subjunctive	nėx fiþ wasar	aþ fiþ wasar	hu fė wasar	nan fu wasar	aþøm fu wasar	høm fu wasar
present	nėx wasar	aþ/eþ wasar	hu/hi wasar	nan wasar	aþøm wasar	høm wasar
future	nėx bė sėr	aþ bė sėr	hu bė sėr	nan bė sėr	aþøm bė sėr	høm bė sėr
w-form	wasar
active participle	sėr
passive participle	sur
infinitive	sėr

The auxiliary bė

The defective auxiliary bė (inf. and w-form bė, past and imperative bu, passive participle buj; from the conflation of two roots, one a cognate of Hebrew בא 'to come' and the other a cognate of Hebrew אבה 'to be willing') is used to form dynamic passives (with the passive participle) and the future (with the infinitive).

• Yn galt lu bė fyþuh = The door is opening (being opened)
• Yn galt bu fyþuh = The door (was) opened
• Yn galt lež buj fyþuh = The door has been opened
• Yn galt fyþuh = The door is open (lit. opened)
  • bė is not repeated for future + passive: both 'The door opens' and 'The door will open' are Yn galt bė fyþuh.
• Dawid bė fþėh yn galt = David will open the door

Gzarot

Main article: Togarmite/Gzarot

In Semitic languages, gzarot (Hebrew גְּזָרוֹת‎, sg. gizra גִּזְרָה 'figure, form, pattern') are variations of an inflectional (especially verbal) paradigm that are determined by the choice of consonants in the consonantal root. Thus, a paradigm has not only a regular gizra but various irregular ones, which occur most commonly when

• the consonantal root contains a "guttural" (ʔ ȝ h) or a semivowel (j w);
• the consonantal root contains a n, since nC tends to assimilate into CC
• the consonantal root has 2 letters.

Because Togarmite only uses the prefix conjugation, modern Togarmite gzarot are in some ways less bad than Hebrew gzarot; most of the irregularities occur in binyan fȝøl. However, there are often so many irregularities even within each gizra, and cases of analogy between verbs of different gzarot, that the concept of gzarot in Modern Togarmite has been questioned: in Togarmite, a "gizra" just describes general tendencies of verbs with a certain root consonant.

Prepositions

Some prepositions:

• in 'in' [from PSem *ina], in yn > nyn
  • ini, inax, inex, inau, ina, inė, inxøm, inaum
• ly (l' before V) 'of (possessive)'
• by (b' before V) 'by, at, with (instrumental), in (language)'
  • bi, bax, bex, bau, ba, banė, baxøm, baum
• šyde 'out of' (from *śadiy-ah 'to the field')
• me (men before V) 'from'
  • meni, menax, menex, menau, mena, menė, mexøm, menaum
• ȝem 'with (comitative)'
  • 3emi, 3emax, 3emex, 3emau, 3ema, 3emnė, 3emxøm, 3emaum
• ȝal 'on'; with definite article ȝlėn/ȝlėm
  • 3lei, 3lėx, 3lėx, 3lėju, 3lėja, 3lėnė, 3lėxøm, 3lėjøm
• lid 'to' (from *la-yad 'to the hand of')
• løb 'into, in' (from *la-libb)
  • Nėx wamen løb žinė - I believe in this
  • Hu þ'yheb løba - He fell in love with her
• ȝbar 'over'
• þat 'under'
• arþo 'down' (from *ʔarþ-ah "earthward")
• darxyn 'along'
• blėš 'without'

Numerals

Cardinal

0: cefry
1: had
2: šnein / attributive šnė
3: šlėš (animate šlėšt)
4: yrbaȝ (animate yrbaȝt)
5: mes (animate mest)
6: setš (animate setšt)
7: sabȝy (animate sabȝyt)
8: šmėni (animate šmėnt)
9: þesȝy (animate þesȝyt)
10: ȝašry (animate ȝašryt)
11: ȝašry wy had
12: ȝašry šnein
20: ȝešrin
30: šlėšin
40: yrbȝin
50: hymsin
60: setšin
70: sybȝin
80: šmėnin
90: þesȝin
100: meþ
101: meþ wy had
200: meþein
300: šlėš meþ
400: yrbaȝ meþ
1000: alf
2000: alfein
3000: šlėš alf
1000000: alfun
10^9: bėþfun
10^12: gamfun
etc.

Plural numerals usually take plural nouns. They used to take singular nouns, however this is considered archaic.

Numbers ending in digits "3" through "9" (thus ending in šlėš through þesȝy), or "10" (thus ending in ȝašry), have two forms depending on the animacy of the noun: hymes myrþemi 'five abacuses', but hymest ahwėþ 'five sisters'. The animate forms come from the masculine forms (reverse polarity) marked with *-t in Proto-Semitic.

Ordinal

Ordinals are formed using the pattern CCuC; as in English, "1st" and "2nd" are irregular, from elatives *ʔaʕlay- 'topmost' and *ʔaʕqab- 'the immediately following' respectively. In compound numerals, the last number word is inflected to the ordinal form.

• 1st = olė
• 2nd = okab
• 3rd = šluš
• 4th = rbuȝ
• 5th = mus
• 6th = stuš
• 7th = sbuȝ
• 8th = smun
• 9th = þsuȝ
• 10th = ȝšur
• 11th = ȝašry w-olė
• 12th = ȝašry w-okab
• 13th = ȝašry šluš

etc.

Fractional

Fractional numerals are formed with the segolate pattern CøCCy (pl. CøCaCi). Compound numerals can be inflected as well, like in the case of ordinal numerals. The analogized form øhdy is used for numerals ending in "1".

• half = gøb (from *gunb- 'side')
• 3rd = šølšy
• 4th = røbȝy
• 11th = ȝašry w-øhdy

To express "m/n", Togarmite uses "m nths": "2/3" is šnė šølaši.

Syntax

Faulty accusative marker

The faulty accusative marker iþ is used. It behaves like the MSA accusative case and the Welsh soft mutation for direct objects: when there is a constituent separating the verb or predicate from a second constituent, iþ comes between the two constituents regardless of whether the second constituent is actually a direct object. Example:

• Halex wyfė li iþ šlėšt xlabi, wy ȝeþo lėš li iþ nux. = I used to have three dogs, and now I don't have any.
• Yn dėrest li ryšė li iþ ȝyšėþ rab þamuni beiþ. = My teacher wants me to do a lot of homework.

Questions

Yes-no questions require the question marker ha to be placed at the beginning of the sentence.

What-questions have a syntax similar to English.

Existentials

The word iš is used to indicate existence. It is also used with the preposition ly 'to' or the possessive pronouns to indicate possession. The negative of iš is lėš.

• Lėš mykėm ėn xølšar nyȝum. = There is no place where everyone is happy.
• Ha iš lex zman? = Do you (f. sg.) have time?

Clauses

• "if" = em
• "then" = šøm
• "though" = ax, xenax

Relative clauses

The relative pronoun žė is used for both relative and complement clauses. It may takes prepositional cases, just like English relative pronouns. The word žė is from PSem *ðā, the accusative singular form of the demonstrative *ðū; cf. Biblical Hebrew זו zu, Aramaic די dī.

For relative clauses whose heads are prepositional objects in the relative clause, there are three strategies:

• the relativizer is treated as a resumptive pronoun which takes the preposition, like English which: yn gabry lid žė nėx ohab ym mauhab, lit. 'the man to which I gave the gift'. This syntax arose from the influence of surrounding languages like English.
• the preposition goes to the end of the clause: yn gabry žė nėx ohab ym mauhab lid lit. 'the man which I gave the gift to'. This syntax arose from the native Semitic construction which used a resumptive pronoun on the preposition: after the resumptive pronoun lost the stress, the preposition lost its pronominal suffix and moved to the end of the clause.
• A combination of both strategies can be used: yn gabry lid žė nėx ohab ym mauhab lid, lit. 'The man to which I gave the gift to'. This is the most common strategy with the other two considered archaic.

Derivation

Noun and adjective patterns

• CaCCy(þ), CeCCy(þ), CøCCy(þ) = segolates
• CyCiC = adjective; -able
• CyCuC = adjective; color
• CyCėC = some adjectives
• CyCaCt, CyCeCt, CyCøCt
• CaCøCt = describes a condition
• CyCeCCaC = diminutive
• myCCaC(t), meCCaC(t), myCCėC: noun, often denoting place
• maCCaCt = causative version of myCCaC(t)
• myCCeC(t) = instrument
• maCCeCt = causative version of myCCeC(t)
• þyCCuC, þyCCiC, þyCCėC = action or process
• þyCCøCt (cognatized from Hebrew tiCCóCet) = system of things
• CaCėC = agentive
  • xaþėb 'writer'
• CaCCan = agentive; -an is an agentive
  • lamsan 'philanthropist' (felanþrøp is also common)
• CaCCėn, CeCCėn, and CøCCėn = nouns, often an augmentative

Affixes

• -an = forms agentives and adjectives
• -in = collectives
  • lamusin 'charity'
• -uþ = abstract noun
• -i = forms adjectives
• -iþ = forms adverbs
• i- = non-, un-
  • ibyšari 'incorporeal'
  • iwøxli 'impossible'
• -yr = someone who is characterized by X (from English)
  • wduȝyr 'know-it-all', from wduȝ 'knowledgeable'
• -ri = -ry (from English)
  • kdėsri = sanctimoniousness, from kdės '(archaic) holy'
  • xal'anri = double standard or hypocrisy, from the agentive xal'an 'hypocrite' of √x-l-ʔ 'double'
• afto- = self-
• e- = a- (from ʔiC-, an assimilated form of the OTog preposition ʔin 'in'); these adjectives can usually only be predicative
  • e'est 'ablaze'
  • edarxy 'away'
  • eþal 'galore' (lit. a-mound)
  • emein 'drowned, lost forever', lit. awater
• -byl = -able (from English -able and native abȝel 'to be able to')
• þy- 're-'

Phrasebook

some phrases in Togarmite:

• Slėm! - Hello! / Goodbye!
• Slėm ȝlėxøm! - Hello! (formal)
• Leilt tėb! / Num by tėb! - Good night! / Sleep well!
• Jaum tėb! - Good day!
• Exarus! / Exarus þax/þex/þaxøm! - Thanks!
• Ȝem ryšan - Please / You're welcome
• Þryhef þi - Excuse me, Pardon
• Nėx nyhum - I'm sorry
• Ma yn sem lax/lex/laxøm? - What's your name?
• Yn sem li [name] - My name is [name]
• Xeix wymar iþ [thing] in Þėgamiþ? - How do you say [thing] in Togarmite?
• H' aþ/eþ/aþøm wydėber [language]? - Do you speak [language]?
• Ȝem ryšan, mør že šėnėn - Please say it again
• Hė lax/lex/laxøm - Here you go! (i.e. I just granted your request) (the source of the English expression is misinterpreted Togarmite)
  • Note: In Ethiopia it's spelled without the space.
• Yn ryhaft li hu myli ȝem clėfi - My hovercraft is full of eels
• En = Yes.
• Lė = No.

Sample texts

Schleicher

Yn xabš w' yn frasi

Xabš ly žė lė fė šamry ly jar frasi: had gor maȝrebt škul, had mol hemly xbur, wy had mol bennės by fiz. Yn xabš mar: "Mrur li yn leb, moran nėx wyrė bennės wyrxab frasi." Yn frasi mar: "Ažen, xabš! Mrur lanė yn leb moran nan wyrė žinė: bennės, ym bol, woši lid afau mylbast mum me šamry lyn xabš. Wy lėš lyn xabš iþ šamry." Moran yn xabš smaȝ žinė, hu mnaȝ lid yn šde.

Old Tog.:

An xabše wan φarasīn

Χabše, žė lė hawė šamre lawh, φarasīn yarʔe: yagōr ʔaħād marχabaθ šakūlaθ, wa-yaħmōl ʔaħād ħemle χabūr, wa-yaħmōl ʔaħād ħaφīzan ʔinės. Yāmār an χabše: Mār lī an lēb, bi-riʔėθī ʔinės rėχib φarasīn. Yāmārū an φarasīn: Sumaʕ an χabše! Mār lanė an lēb bi-riʔėθinė žīnė: ʔinės an baʕle yaʕšē lawh malbasaθ ħamūmaθ mēn šamre an χabšīn. Wa-lėš len-χabše šamre. Bi-šimėʕ an χabše žīnė, yamnāȝ ʔilė an šadi.

Hebrew:

הכבש והסוסים

כבש שלא היה לו צמר ראה סוסים: אחד גרר עגלה כבדה, אחד נשא עומס גדול, ואחד נשא בן אדם וזז מהר. אמר הכבש: "כואב לי לראות איך בן אדם רוכב סוסים." אמרו הסוסים: "הקשב, כבש, כואב לנו לראות זאת: בן אדם, האדון, עושה לעצמו בגד חמים מצמרו של הכבש. ולכבש אין צמר." לאחר ששמע זאת, ברח הכבש לתוך המישור.

Lysėn þėrmi, lysėn þlul

• Had arþ, rab arþi; had galt, rab galti!
• Jaumyn nėx wyxþab, amsyn nėx yxþøb; jaumyn nėx wytȝam, amsyn nėx ytȝøm!

A biology abstract

Nan wymdød yn þyglim efkarjotek meþycrer lyn irišt TSP3 in Bruxorjon sponerču. TSP3 wykadek kinas nahelan rėxes ly prøtezenjon, mykėma bym mikrospørelata køtoknėji lyn ribosøm posatedek, wy xahus ly TSP3 rahibyn ma'man ly fėþ ym mojan ly karčin køboþrøtek. In þyxþøbt žinė nan wystydrex wynkat þybhin xyli-ȝywur Rɪᴄᴇʀ-Jᴀʟɪɴꜱᴋɪ, žė ryxės TSP3 lid yn ȝaxuban føloxrøpsenas wykrė (p = 0.04) nyn øpotreløma ly køt Bruxorjon slim møran eþy'yfusi adenotoksen nyhuþ. Ly þymacu žinė bė fėþ ramuzi mø'abjunė lid yn drės ly desklørøma sømbrøxi.

We measure the nucleating eukaryotic folding of the TSP3 gene in Bruchorium sponercii. TSP3 encodes a protezine-binding receptor kinase located at the cytotubular microsporellata of the quanticular ribosome, and malfunction of TSP3 is commonly believed to be the source of cybothrotic cancer. In this paper we prove using a Rɪᴇᴛᴢᴇʀ-Yᴀʟɪɴꜱᴋʏ double-blind test that TSP3 binding to the phyllochrypsinase inhibitor occurs (p = 0.04) in the hypotrellome of a healthy Bruchorium cell when adenotoxin concentrations are low. This research will have significant implications for the study of symbrychous descloroma.

Newton's laws of motion

I: Dbar wyšbaþ by demi, o by ȝyþėk enomorf, lulė ydraȝ wyparkes ȝal þež.

I: An object stays at rest, or at a constant speed, unless a force acts on it.

II: Yn šanuj nyn þyȝþik ly bšar že myþxøni lid yn øþisi møþyfacar ȝlėm bšar; w' yn šanuj wykrė darxyn yn kau þykin ȝal žė øþisi ži bė møþyfacar ȝal.

II: The change in the momentum of a body is proportional to the force applied to the body; and the change occurs along the straight line on which that force is applied.

III: Iš ly xøl parkis iþ þyparkis is w' anteþet.

III: Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.

O how quickly the sculpture of life

O! Xma fiziþ ym myklaȝ ly heiwėþ
Šaber in temaša zytarter!
Ym mgiluþ lym malx ȝlėn þrøn lau
Bė xliliþ gruf dax by gali bor.
Aþøm, žė waþė mancabta hė,
Ȝabry hen yn Ylėh lawani ȝlėn arþ.
Xøl lanė mødajan ȝal ym parkisi lanė;
Hamnė wyhėb lid yn ȝni, w' agaþeržijėþ lid hawdud.

O how quickly the sculpture of life
Shattered into tiny fragments!
The splendor of the king on his throne
Is completely swept away by sea-waves.
Ye who come hither stationed here,
By the grace of God ye are guests on earth.
All of us are judged according to our actions;
Let us give to the needy, and do charity towards one another.

Warming Up To You

Weþyhmem lidax
Xenax aþ bė mėþ in xlėþ,
Nėx yrþybec nym mimuþ lax,
Ym mimuþ žė azė'en yn hakranuþ,
Yn ȝyli lyn wedȝy;
Yn gant žė lax sþul in žinė rybuȝ admyþ
Wy žė aþ bė nyžėr lid dwari.

Stairway To Heaven

Maȝlyþ lid yn Symeiniþ
Iš bolt žė hi šur
Xøl žė nėher že žahab
Wy hi wykna maȝlyþ lid yn symeiniþ

UDHR

Xøl nės mewølad rur w' is in akšoprepja wy žyxawi. Høm møþyhanan by ložeki wy synidisi wy høbu parkus lid hawdud in ruh l'ahwuþ.