Dama Diwan: Difference between revisions

It allows wonderful freedom of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head_(linguistics) word order] within the frame of the head-final syntax.

The reasons why dama diwan is objectively different to all other (natural or constructed) languages:  

# It is the easiest, simplest, and smallest of all functional languages. This is measured by its 258 roots and 4 or 6 suffixes; it has been tested that it takes about 5 days for an average person to memorize the whole vocabulary. It is not possible to make an easier functional language, because if the number of morphemes is reduced, then it will be necessary to memorize a huge number of combinations with special subjective meanings which cannot be understood by the combined elements themselves.

#In fact, the roots are the phonemes, so Dama is made from 12 roots only; but because it is not always easy to find the meaning of a cVc root from the individual phonemes, it is necessary to memorize the meaning of the 258 higher level roots.

# All phonemes are equally represented.

:-O :noun -ON: object before its verb.

:-A :adverb -AN: genitive.

There is no -AN to express the genitive, but genitive can still be expressed by SE ("having") or by various postpositions (e.g. RASA "from", RAMA "in"); there is not even a marginal use of prepositions, only postpositions (-A) are used. The -A adverbs before nouns work as adjectives, which can often substitute a genitive, e.g. MAJA WORO "goat milk" instead of MAJAN WORO "goat's milk".

There is no -ON -E -O construction (RABON MIRE TO "wood cutting person" = a woodcutter), but it can be substituted by e.g. RABO-BA MIRE-TO "wood-done cutting-person" or RABE TO "the person who uses wood".

There is no -ON -E construction, but it can be substituted by nouns used as passive verbs, e.g. instead of RABON TO MIRE (wood← person cut) you can say RABO MIRO, TO BE= wood (was) cut, person did= the wood was cut by that person. Monosyllabics like BO "done" and NO "made", also in their adverbial forms BA "with that thing done" and NA "with that thing made" can also substitute -ON; so, you can say: RABO BA, TO MIRE= "wood being done something, person cut" instead of ordinary Daman: RABON TO MIRE; or: SUBO NA, TO KUTE = "house being made, person made high" =the person built the house high.

In these ways, this usage of Daman can still work and convey essentially the same information as ordinary Daman.

This type of usage is called JIRO "tough, inflexible" although some word-order flexibility is still possible, but the sentence subject must always be stated while it is mostly omitted in ordinary Daman (which is called JURO "individual; element; standard for measurement and judgment"); extended usage (below) is called JARO "stretchable, elastic".

:Lengthening of stem or only vowel: augmentative

:rOA=the way of the noun complex. rOI=to turn into rO.

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'''.

:Adjectives are indicated by their position (before of a noun as modifiers, or after the noun as predicates), and not by any special marking; all parts of speech can serve as adjectives, but especially the adverbs -A before nouns work very much like adverbs derived from nouns, e.g. NUNA KIWO (NUNO=the front, NUNA=in front, KIWO=word) =foreword.

:Genitive and possessive pronouns are expressed through the root S- "to have", the suffix -AN, and the word WISO ("one's own") that substitutes all possessive pronouns; also, postpositions can substitute the genitive, as RASA "from".

:"Causality" means everything regarded as a cause for a certain effect. This terminology sounds still obscure, but Dama language always simplifies things: adverbs are called JENO, which means "use"; every adverb [cv]c-A means "by using the [cv]c" (where [cv]c- is the stem of the word and -A is the adverbial suffix).

An adverb (-A) can substitute all grammatical oblique cases (except accusative) such as dative, locative, comitative, instrumental, similative and (enhanced as -AN) the genitive and ablative. Where more accuracy is needed, numerous postpositions are used. Postpositions are themselves classified as adverbs (-A), e.g. SA "with", KA "in order to; should; must", MA "toward/to", RASA "from", etc..

We shall use the roots BUR (soft, a mix of solid and liquid like dough or something that feels between solid and liquid) and WIW (liquid, especially water) as an example.

* BURO WIWA =with (or: in) water which is actually mud; WIWO BURA =with (or: in) mud which is actually liquid.

===MODIFIERS TO NOUNS / ruro nuna juno===

suppose the modified word is a noun such as BASO (fish); then JASO BASO = "the teeth-fish" (implying an important role of teeth, so it is a shark, if the context agrees). However, note that with a zero-copula if we put two nouns next to each other, the first is naturally a subject and the second is its predicate: this is the original construction. Now, if subject=describing and predicate=categorizing, then object-predicate means adjective-noun, so such an adjective has a connotation of subject (A=B); for example, a "tail" is called "JAMO WOSO" ("back cord"): JAMO (the rear thing) is an adjective to the noun WOSO (cord, rope, etc.), but at the same time there is the relation A=B: the back (thing) is a cord. So, even when saying JASO BASO "teeth fish" this is to give an impression that the fish is all teeth. If we must make clear that there is not an A=B relationship, then we use the suffix -AN, broadly analogous to English "of": JAMAN WOSO =the cord (or rope, thread) ''of'' the back part; or, the word SE forms a possessive function: JAMO SE WOSO "the cord that the back part ''has''"; A SE JANO= your pig, clearly different from A JANO =you (are a) pig. However, we can still say e.g. A RUSO "your eye(s)" because the pragmatic context makes it obvious that we do not say exactly that "you are an eye".  

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-kind", such a 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.

===MODIFIERS TO VERBS / bo nuna juno===

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.

===MODIFIERS TO ADVERBS / jeno nuna juno===

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).

It is indeed possible to use the Dama language without the suffixed -N. In such a usage, Dama does not lose its ability to express things, but it loses its flexibility: the word order should then be strict SVO, and the subject must always be present (even as a dummy, e.g. TO "person", NO "thing" etc.); some  people may think such a usage to be easier; for me, it is too hard; all my experience shows that the easiest way to start a sentence in Daman is to start with the object. Also, the final -N on verbs is extremely practical in showing different kinds of object (e.g. a whole sentence can be a verb's object), and so, even if you thing that it is easier without the suffixed -N, you may find it much more difficult if you try to use Dama without that -N.

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...".  

Not only verbs, but also adverbs, conjunctions and adpositions have their objects, so the -n can also join the adposition or 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.

UNTIL 2016 MARCH 03, the suffix -an was used to mark that 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.

Sometimes -AN (genitive) and -A (pure adverb) can refer to the same thing; e.g. SUBAN SAMO "the house's furniture" means the same as SUBA SAMO "the furniture in the house"; SUBAN NAJO "opposite of the house" is really the same as SUBA NAJO "opposite to the house". But there can be a significant difference, as -AN can show a thing as "origin", while -A can show the same thing as "destination": WOSA TUWE "by a rope - stabilize" is "to tie up"; but WOSAN TUWE "from a rope - stabilize" is "to hang".

Although there are formally no prepositions in Dama, if we consider a phrase like: "BASO AN MARA, KAN JASE" ("the fish is getting near, of-intention biting"), "of-intention biting" cannot mean but "with an intention to bite"; such is the function of all adverbs that can be used as postpositions, especially RASA (from), MA (to), KA (in order to; must); so it is quite logical and in correct grammar to use them as prepositions in the form RASAN, MAN, KAN, although this usage is discouraged, yet it is another proof that Dama can imitate the usages of all languages. A phrase started with such a preposition (-AN) should be separated from the rest of the text by two commas (or other two punctuation marks).

'''In general it is advisable to use the -n as sparingly as possible'''.