From b2da6e039727366949f54e2e713b683a94ed4a7c Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Christine Dodrill Date: Mon, 18 May 2020 20:19:02 -0400 Subject: [PATCH] reconlangmo 5: Sentence Structure (#148) * reconlangmo 5: Sentence Structure * lol oops --- ...mo-2-phonology-writing-2020-05-08.markdown | 6 +- ...o-5-sentence-structure-2020-05-18.markdown | 137 ++++++++++++++++++ 2 files changed, 140 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-) create mode 100644 blog/reconlangmo-5-sentence-structure-2020-05-18.markdown diff --git a/blog/reconlangmo-2-phonology-writing-2020-05-08.markdown b/blog/reconlangmo-2-phonology-writing-2020-05-08.markdown index 75b61c1..eede50a 100644 --- a/blog/reconlangmo-2-phonology-writing-2020-05-08.markdown +++ b/blog/reconlangmo-2-phonology-writing-2020-05-08.markdown @@ -32,15 +32,15 @@ L'ewa, consonants and vowels. ### Consonants -*Consonant inventory*: /d g h j k l m n p q s t w ʃ ʒ ʔ ʙ̥/ +*Consonant inventory*: /d f g h j k l m n p q s t w ʃ ʒ ʔ ʙ̥/ | Manner/Place | Bilabial | Alveolar | Palato-alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Labio-velar | Uvular | Glottal | |---------------------|----------|----------|-----------------|---------|-------|-------------|--------|---------| | Nasal | m | n | | | | | | | | Stop | p | t d | | | k g | | q | ʔ | -| Fricative | | s | ʃ ʒ | | | | | h | +| Fricative | f | s | ʃ ʒ | | | | | h | | Approximant | | | | j | | w | | | -| Trill | ʙ̥ | | | | | | | | +| Trill | ʙ̥ | r | | | | | | | | Lateral approximant | | l | | | | | | | The weirdest consonant is /ʙ̥/, which is a voiceless bilabial trill, or blowing diff --git a/blog/reconlangmo-5-sentence-structure-2020-05-18.markdown b/blog/reconlangmo-5-sentence-structure-2020-05-18.markdown new file mode 100644 index 0000000..8484d05 --- /dev/null +++ b/blog/reconlangmo-5-sentence-structure-2020-05-18.markdown @@ -0,0 +1,137 @@ +--- +title: "ReConLangMo 5: Sentence Structure" +date: 2020-05-18 +series: reconlangmo +tags: + - conlang + - lewa +--- + +# ReConLangMo 5: Sentence Structure + +The last post in [this series][reconlangmo] was more of a grammar dump with few +concrete examples or much details about things (mostly because of a lack of +vocabulary to make examples with). I'll fix this in the future, but for now +let's continue on with sentence structure goodness. This is a response to [this +prompt][rclm5]. + +[reconlangmo]: /blog/series/reconlangmo +[rclm5]: https://www.reddit.com/r/conlangs/comments/gmbwb5/reconlangmo_5_sentence_structure/ + +## Independent Clause Structure + +Most of the time L'ewa sentences have only one clause. This can be anything from +a single verb to a subject, verb and object. However, sometimes more information +is needed. Consider this sentence: + +``` +The dog which is blue is large. +``` + +This kind of a relative clause would be denoted using `hoi`, which would make +the sentence roughly the following in L'ewa: + +``` +le wufra hoi blanu xi brado. +``` + +The particle `xi` is needed here in order to make it explicit that the subject +noun-phrase has ended. + +Similarly, an incidental relative clause is done with with `joi`: + +``` +le wufra joi blanu ke brado +the dog, which by the way is blue, is big. +``` + +## Questions + +There are a few ways to ask questions in L'ewa. They correlate to the different +kinds of things that the speaker could want to know. + +### `ma` + +`ma` is the particle used to fill in a missing/unknown noun phrase. Consider +these sentences: + +``` +ma blanu? +what is blue? +``` + +``` +ro qa madsa ma? +you are eating what? +``` + +### `no` + +`no` is the particle used to fill in a missing/unknown verb. Consider these +sentences: + +``` +ro no? +How are you doing? +``` + +``` +le wufra xi no? +The dog did what? +``` + +### `so` + +`so` is the particle used to ask questions about numbers, similar to the "how +many" construct in English. + +``` +ro madsa so spalo? +You ate how many apples? +``` + +``` +le so zasko xi qa'te glowa +How many plants grow quickly? +``` + +## Color Words + +L'ewa uses a RGB color system like computers. The basic colors are red, green +and blue, with some other basic ones for convenience: + +| English | L'ewa | +| ------- | ------ | +| blue | blanu | +| red | delja | +| green | qalno | +| yellow | yeplo | +| teal | te'ra | +| pink | hetlo | +| black | xekri | +| white | pu'ro | +| 50% gray | flego | + +Colors will be mixed by creating compound words between base colors. Compound +words still need to be fleshed out, but generally all CVCCV words will have +wordparts made out of the first, second and fifth letter, unless the vowel pair +is illegal and all CCVCV words are the first, second and fifth letter unless +this otherwise violates the morphology rules. Like I said though, this really +needs to be fleshed out and this is only a preview for now. + +For example a light green would be `puoqa'o` (`pu'lo qalno`, white-green). + +--- + +I hit a snag while hacking at the tooling for making word creation and the like +easier. I am still working on it, but most of my word creation is manual and +requires me to keep a phonology information document up on my monitor while I +sound things out. As part of writing this article I had to add the letters `f` +and `r` to L'ewa for the word `wufra`. + +I am documenting my work for this language [here](https://tulpa.dev/cadey/lewa). +This repo will build the grammar book PDF, website and eBook. This will also be +the home of the word generation, similarity calculation, dictionary and +(eventually) automatic translation tools. I am also documenting each of the +words in the language in their own files that will feed into the grammar book +generation. More on this when I have more of a coherent product!