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== Grammar / kiwo nijo ==
== Grammar / kiwo nijo ==
If you know the meaning of Dama Diwan words and the head-final word order, you don't need to know any other grammar.
If you know the meaning of Dama Diwan words and the head-final word order, you don't need to know any other grammar. "Grammar" means things obligatory to express, such as gender, case, number, tense, aspect of verb, mood and so on. All such things are available in Dama, but almost nothing is obligatory to express. In fact, it is better to omit anything that is easily understood without mentioning it. What is obligatory (and therefore, grammatical) in Dama, is that every word must end with one of the 3 vowels, and that vowel presents the word as a noun or adverb or verb; so, '''these 3 suffixes, along with the word order and the possible -n constitute the whole grammar of formal Dama'''.
Every stem can take one of the 3 affixes o / a / e, which can be further expanded to on, an, en.
The 3 suffixes o / a / e have the following native names (with examples in brackets):
So we have 6 possible suffixes, which have the following native names (with examples in brackets):


:-o : ruro. (to, taro, no, wano…). It means a nominal word, something existing in space.
:-o : ruro. (to, taro, no, wano…). It means a nominal word, something existing in space.
:-a : jeno. (rasa, taba, na, kuka…). It means an adverbial word, expressing some notion of causality.
:-a : jeno. (rasa, taba, na, kuka…). It means an adverbial word, expressing some notion of causality.
:-e : bo. (be, ne, bibe, nuje…). It means an active verb, something realised in time.
:-e : tubo. (be, ne, bibe, nuje…). It means an active verb, something realized in time.


===MODIFIERS TO NOUNS===
So for example JASO is a tooth / teeth; JASA is the adverb "teeth-way", with (the) teeth, teeth-like, by means of teeth; and JASE is the verb: to use the teeth, bite or chew. All these can be used as predicates (after the subject) or as adjectives / modifiers (before the modified word);
suppose the modified word is a noun such as BASO (fish); then JASO BASO = "the teeth-fish" or "the fish of teeth" (implying an important role of teeth, so it is a shark, if the context agrees). A noun as a modifier functions like the genitive case in many languages.
In JASA BASO the modifier is an adverb; an adverb modifying a noun works much like a derivative adjective, in this case "teethy", "teeth-like", or "teeth-using", a such kind of fish. A practical way to understand the meaning of an adverb is to use the word -"way" or the English suffixes -"wise", -"ly", -"like" or "with"-.
Very often in Dama the modifier of a noun is a verb, then it is equal to an active verb participle: JASE BASO =the biting fish =the fish that bites.


:-on : suto. (ton, taron, non, wanon…). Marks an object placed not after its verb.
===MODIFIERS TO VERBS===
:-an : nujo. (rasan, taban, nan, kukan…). Marks an adverb used as a preposition or conjunction.
Supposing the verb is JASE (uses the teeth, bites).
:-en : raso. (ben, nen, biben, nujen…). Marks a verb which is going to be followed by its direct object.
A noun before the verb is its subject: BASO JASE =the fish is biting.
An adverb before the verb is in the most proper adverbial function: BASA JASE =(s/he) bites like a fish, (s/he) bites the way fish do.
A verb before another verb is dependent to the second verb; in all cases, the modified comes last and the modifier comes before it. So, NUJE JASE "catches-bites" means "bites in a catching way, bites so as to catch"; while WASE JASE "presses-bites" means "uses the teeth in a pressing way", i.e. "is chewing". In many cases, especially with the monosyllabic verbs as main, the modifying verb works as the object of the second verb, e.g. JASE RE "bite-want" =it wants/tries to bite.


=== -a / -an adverbials / jino juno ===
===MODIFIERS TO ADVERBS===
The difference between -e / -en, -o / -on, has been sufficiently explained.
Like all words, adverbs can be modified by all words; adverbs very often work as POSTpositions or adverbs of time/place/mode in relation to a noun, so the main word here is the postpositional adverb which comes second: JASO JENA "teeth-using" =by using the teeth. JASO RAMA ="tooth-inside" =inside the tooth. JASO RINO RAMA "teeth-row-inside" =inside the row of the teeth.
An adverb can modify another adverb (again, the modifier comes first): JENA =using, by means of; MIWA JENA "big-way using" =much using, making much use of.
A verb modifying an adverb is common for adverbs functioning as postpositions or conjunctions: e.g. KA "in order to; must", so JASE KA AN-MARA "in order to bite - comes close"; JASE KA! (bite!) is a possible order to a dog that has been taught Dama. That is not so hard, as a dog can learn 500 expressions in the first year of its life, while Dama has only 262 - 264 morphemes (depending on the way of counting them).


Adverbial words are very often used as postpositions, prepositions or conjunctions.
===THE SUFFIXED -N===
All the 3 suffixes can be extended by a final nasal, which is best pronounced as velar if possible to the speaker. The final nasal is the connecting indicator: it goes between the object (called SUTO) and its ruler (SUTE) to connect them.
A mnemonic device to remember the role of -n is the word "next", as -n joins primarily with the next word. In Dama, the mnemonic word is "NUJO" (catching), as it "catches" the next words, or "NUTO" (fruit, result), as it connects to the result (object) of the word. The -n can be considered as an abbreviated form of "NO" (thing): it is understood as "the thing, which...".
:So, between a noun object and its verb: BASON NUJE = "fish-catches" = "s/he catches fish", while BASO NUJE = the fish catches (prey). If the verb goes first, NUJEN BASO "s/he catches fish". But in NUJE BASO, "baso" canNOT be the object, so it is the case of a verb modifier to a noun: "the catching fish", the fish that catches (prey).


The suffix -an is used when the adverb is used as a preposition or conjunction, or more generally to show that the adverb connects primarily to the following word and not to the previous.
Not only verbs, but also adverbs, conjunctions and adpositions have their objects, so the -n also joins the adposition or time/place/mode adverb to its object.


The suffix -a is used when the adverb is used as a postposition, or more generally to show that the adverb is connected primarily with the previous words before the meaning is joined to the following.
The suffix -a is used when the adverb is used as a POSTposition, or more generally to show that the adverb is connected primarily with the PREVIOUS words before the meaning is joined to the following.


If there is no question whether the adverb joins primarily to the previous or to the next, -a is taken to mean "of" or "in relation to" the word it marks, while -an can very rarely be in the end of a clause, then it refers to something understood but not stated.
The suffix -an is used when the adverb is used as a PREposition or conjunction, or more generally to show that the adverb connects primarily to the FOLLOWING word and not to the previous. Therefore, an adverb ending in -an cannot be in the end of a clause, but in rare cases that is done, and then the -an adverb refers to something understood but not stated.
 
In Dama, the -a adverbs are preferable to the -an adverbs, however it is one of very few languages where both postpositions and prepositions can be used.


=== Other parts of speech / juno womo sijo ===
=== Other parts of speech / juno womo sijo ===
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Of course, there must be some limitations in such personalization, so that the Dama can function as an international auxiliary language:
Of course, there must be some limitations in such personalization, so that the Dama can function as an international auxiliary language:
*It is strongly recommended that the disylabic words have different stress / pitch / length / vowel openness (height) on their two syllables, or at least monosyllabic words should take as much time as disyllabic ones in pronunciation when not pronounced together with the previous word.
*It is strongly recommended that the disyllabic words have different stress / pitch / length / vowel openness (height) on their two syllables, or at least monosyllabic words should take as much time as disyllabic ones in pronunciation when not pronounced together with the previous word.
*To pronounce Dama words together is not only permitted but also encouraged, for showing in speech how words group together (in writing this can be facilitated by hyphens and punctuation). The 6 monosyllabic words a, i, o, un, in, an can freely be enclitics or proclitics (joined in pronunciation with the previous or next word), but the 27 monosyllabic words starting with consonants and ending with vowels can be joined (as enclitics) to their preceding word only; it can be a bad habit (for possibly creating some confusion) to pronounce such monosyllabic words joint (as proclitics) to their following ones.  
*To pronounce Dama words together is not only permitted but also encouraged, for showing in speech how words group together (in writing this can be facilitated by hyphens and punctuation). The 6 monosyllabic words a, i, o, un, in, an can freely be enclitics or proclitics (joined in pronunciation with the previous or next word), but the 27 monosyllabic words starting with consonants and ending with vowels can be joined (as enclitics) to their preceding word only; it can be a bad habit (for possibly creating some confusion) to pronounce such monosyllabic words joint (as proclitics) to their following ones.
*To write Dama words together as one word might help to show how the words combine together, but that can greatly confuse the learners. Writing several words without word division might be used some time in the future if people are proficient in Dama; even in that case, the rule should be that no monosyllabic word starting with a consonant should be jointly written with other words, unless that monosyllabic is in the end of the set or is ending with -n in the beginning of the set. The best way to join Dama words together is by using a hyphen and not absence of dividing space.  
*Only the 16 letters a b d e g i j k m n o r s t u w (including the combinations ts and ds) may be used when writing Dama with the Latin alphabet. Palatal sounds (e.g. /c/, /ɟ/) should be considered phonetically same as velar (k/g), and not same as dentals (t/d). The sound /p/ should be avoided, at least by making it emphatic or ejective, and lateral sounds should not be accepted in Dama.
*Only the 16 letters a b d e g i j k m n o r s t u w (including the combinations ts and ds) may be used when writing Dama with the Latin alphabet. Palatal sounds (e.g. /c/, /ɟ/) should be considered phonetically same as velar (k/g), and not same as dentals (t/d). The sound /p/ should be avoided, at least by making it emphatic or ejective, and lateral sounds should not be accepted in Dama.
:These limitation define the acoustic "flavor" and character of Dama, just like a Pythagorean or analogous musical scale that has limited positions so that everything played on it sounds pleasant and harmonious.
:These limitation define the acoustic "flavor" and character of Dama, just like a Pythagorean or analogous musical scale that has limited positions so that everything played on it sounds pleasant and harmonious.
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