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6.5 > Ebisedian
Ebisedian
by H.S. Teoh
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3jhidii'.
3jhidi0' si'ty tu 0so' 3jhidia' kww'k3 3vwnaoTe3' my'Prum tumu. miCi' 0so'
3jhidi0' za'ti nu 3jhidiu' da coga'rau ke. 0so' 3jhidi0' m3p3p3' ce. myso'
tww'ma t3 oso' oro cuga're obu'. t3m3 re.
3jhidi0' ta'maa aro bis33'du t3 myso' kinaci'. myso' cunaci'. myso'
ronaci'. t3m3 Ke. keve m3chu'jaa n3 3jhidii' da cwga'ra3 ve. miCi' 0so'
3jhidi0' toka' rosa'nu. 3jh3dii'. ana 3kil3 lyy's loo'ru ke. ana 3kila
vi'y 3jit3m0' 3khet3mu' ce. ana 3kila 3khet3m0' 3jit3mu' re. ana 3kil3
cugra' li'zy uta'ro ros3'n0.
ana ji'e kele. keve 0so' kesoKr0's 3n3 3jhidiu' d3 3cwgrw3' kekreu' zo
kekreu' Ke. 0so' kesobe'jh 3cwgrw3' 3nu my'cwgrw3 dunu my'cugaraa du
3bis33'du ve. za'ti 3jhidi0' tu ogha' kww'k3 b3s33'd3 icu'ro Pe'rim isu'?
tumu.
ogha' kele? zota' Ke. keve fa't3 3bis33'doPerokre0' ve. bis33'di. isi'
zoro isi' n3 kili d3 b3j3' sifovy'aa ke. n3 kili d3 r3j3' guse'ngaa ce. nu
kili d3 cha'rum buruba'raa l3r3ka'rwm3 re. keve n3 kili d3 jwbrw3' cw'aa
my'tamau. uro kijh3d3' Pe'rim isu' Ke. kijhid0' my'bis33dochar3 ve. ana
3jhidi0' di'my t3 my'e kele. t3m3. keve 3jhidi0' gha'ngochar3 isu'.
Ladies and gentlemen.
You have decided that you want to expunge the seven evils from the world.
Therefore, you should take heed as regards your eating habits.
You should show sympathy. You should not say, "I want to eat again!".
You keep telling other people, "this should not be so", "that should not be so", "the other should not be so".
So, you must learn wisdom.
Perhaps you go out, and twist the truth into a lie, and the lie into 'truth';
and by reason of food, you depart from wisdom.
If so, you ought to apportion your food, portion by portion;
and distribute the food to those who have no food, who are starving.
Consider this: by whom will a person continue to exist?
By whom?
Look! and see the countless people. Each person, every moment, has their arm painfully twisted, their feet bound, their face beaten upon by the weather; and their mouth sealed.
These ones continue to live; but they lost their personality.
If you say, "this is not so", then you will continue to have [your] beast-personality.
Another analysis of this text can be seen in the PDF file here.
===========
INTERLINEAR
===========
LEGEND
------
Line 1 Orthographic text
Line 2 Word function. The first character indicates word category,
and may be one of:
N noun
V verb
1 single-case particle
2 double-case particle
X indeclinable particle
The subsequent characters indicate inflections.
For verbs, the first character indicates domain: (P)hysical,
(I)ntrovertive, (A)bstract. The second character marks focus:
(I)ncidental, (D)eliberative, (C)onsequential. The 3rd character
marks aspect: (I)nceptive, p(R)ogressive, (P)erfective.
For nouns and single-case particles, the first character marks
gender: (M)asculine, (F)eminine, (E)picene, (N)euter, (D)ouble.
The
2nd character marks number: (1) singular, (+) plural, (0) nullar.
The 3rd character marks case: (O)riginative, (R)eceptive,
(I)nstrumental, (C)onveyant, (L)ocative. For particles, a dash (-)
is used where an attribute is not applicable.
For double-case particles, the first 3 characters are the same as
for nouns (above). The 3rd character marks referent case, and an
additional 4th character is added to mark functional case. The 4th
character uses the same character designations for noun case.
Line 3 Root word(s) in lexicon form (as they appear in glossary).
Separate
root words are delimited by dashes (-).
Paragraph breaks are marked by a double slash //.
TEXT
----
3jhidii'. //
NE+L
jhidi'
3jhidi0' si'ty tu 0so' 3jhidia' kww'k3 3vwnaoTe3' my'Prum tumu.
NE+O VIIP 1--R X NE+I VAIP NN+C NN0R 1--R
jhidi' sa'ti ti 0so' jhidi' ka'k3 vunai'-3Tei' Pe'rim timi
miCi' 0so' 3jhidi0' za'ti nu 3jhidiu' da coga'rau ke.
X X NE+O VIII 1-1R NE+R 1--I NN1R X
miCi' 0so' jhidi' za'ti ni jhidi' di cuga'rai ke
0so' 3jhidi0' m3p3p3' ce. myso' tww'ma t3 oso' oro cuga're obu'.
X NE+O NN1C X X VPIP 1--C X X VPII NE1R
0so' jhidi' mipipi' ce my'e-0so' ta'ma ti oso' oro cuga're obi'
t3m3 re. //
1--C X
timi re
3jhidi0' ta'maa aro bis33'du t3 myso' kinaci'. myso' cunaci'.
NE+O NN1I X NE1R 1--C X NN1L X NN1L
jhidi' ta'mai aro bis33'di ti my'e-0so' ki-naci' my'e-0so' cu-naci'
myso' ronaci'. t3m3 Ke. keve m3chu'jaa n3 3jhidii' da cwga'ra3 ve.
X NN1L 1--C X X NN1I 1-1C NE+L 1--C NN1C X
my'e-0so' ro-naci' timi Ke keve m3chu'jai ni jhidi' di cuga'rai ve
miCi' 0so' 3jhidi0' toka' rosa'nu. 3jh3dii'. ana 3kil3 lyy's loo'ru ke.
X X NE+O VPII NN1R NE+L X 2-+LC VPIP NN1R X
miCi' 0so' jhidi' toka' rosa'ni jhidi' ana kili le's loo'ri ke
ana 3kila vi'y 3jit3m0' 3khet3mu' ce. ana 3kila 3khet3m0' 3jit3mu' re.
X 2-+LI VIIP NN+O NN+R - X 2-+LI NN+O NN+R X
ana kili va'i ji't3mi khe't3mi ce ana kili khe't3mi ji't3mi re
ana 3kil3 cugra' li'zy uta'ro ros3'n0. //
X 2-+LC NN1I VIIP X NN1O
ana kili cugri' la'zi uta'ro rosa'ni
ana ji'e kele. keve 0so' kesoKr0's 3n3 3jhidiu' d3 3cwgrw3' kekreu'
X X X X X VPII 1-+C NE+R 1--C NN+C NN1R
ana ji'e kele keve 0so' keso-Kr0's ni jhidi' di cugri' kekrei'
zo kekreu' Ke. 0so' kesobe'jh 3cwgrw3' 3nu my'cwgrw3 du- nu
my'cugaraa
X NN1R X X VPII NN+C 1-+R NN0C 1--R 1--R NN0I
zo kekrei' Ke 0so' keso-be'jh cugri' ni cugri' du- nu cuga'rai
du 3bis33'du ve. za'ti 3jhidi0' tu ogha' kww'k3 b3s33'd3 icu'ro
1--R NE+R X VIII NE+O 1--R NE1I VAIP NE1C X
di bis33'di ve za'ti jhidi' ti ghi' ka'k3 bis33'di icu'ro
Pe'rim isu'? tumu. //
NN1L NN1R 1--R
Pe'rim isi' timi
ogha' kele? zota' Ke. keve fa't3 3bis33'doPerokre0' ve. bis33'di.
NE1I X VPII X X VPIP NE+O X NE1L
ghi' kele zota' Ke keve fa't3 bis33'di-Perokrei' ve bis33'di
isi' zoro isi' n3 kili d3 b3j3' sifovy'aa ke. n3 kili d3
NN1L X NN1L 1-1C 2-1LL 1-1C NE1C NN1I X 1-1C 2-1LL 1--C
isi' zo-oro isi' ni kili di biji' sifi'-vy'ai ke ni kili di
r3j3' guse'ngaa ce. nu kili d3 cha'rum buruba'raa l3r3ka'rwm3 re.
NE1C NN1I X 1-1R 2-1LL 1--C NE1R NN1I NN1C X
r3ji' guse'ngai ce ni kili di cha'rim buruba'rai l3r3-k0'rumi re
keve n3 kili d3 jwbrw3' cw'aa my'tamau. uro kijh3d3' Pe'rim isu' Ke.
X 1-1C 2-1LL 1--C NE1C NN1I NN0R X NE1C NN1L NN1R X
keve ni kili di jubrui' cw'ai ta'mai uro ki-jh3d3 Pe'rim isi' Ke
kijhid0' my'bis33dochar3 ve. ana 3jhidi0' di'my t3 my'e kele. t3m3.
NE1O NN0C X X NE+O VIIP 1--C X X 1--C
ki-jhidi' bis33'dochari ve ana jhidi' da'mi ti my'e kele timi
keve 3jhidi0' gha'ngochar3 isu'. //
X NE+O NN1C NN1R
keve jhidi' gha'ngochari isi'
--END INTERLINEAR--
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Ebisedian Glossary
------------------
(This is arranged in the order of appearance in the relay text. Alphabetical
order in Ebisedian does not follow the Roman alphabetical order, so I thought
it would be too confusing to put this in alphabetical order.)
jhidi' [Zi"di]
Distant pronoun. (See section on pronouns in crash-course grammar.)
sa'ti ["sati]
Introvertive verb, "to fixate on", "to set one's mind on", "to look
forward to". Carries the idea of (psychologically) fixing one's eyes
upon a destination.
ti [ti]
See grammar section on "subordinate passages".
0so' [A"so]
Strong optative particle. See grammar section on optatives.
ka'k3 ["kak@\]
Abstract verb, "to cause", "to cause to happen". To cause one state
(originative noun phrase) into another (receptive noun phrase); to
cause something (conveyant noun phrase) to arrive at some state
(receptive noun phrase).
vunai' [Buna"?i]
Noun; "curse", "an accursed thing". Derivatively, "evil", "badness".
3Tei' [@\t_h&"?i]
Plural numerical quantity noun, "seven".
Pe'rim ["p_h&r`im]
Noun, "the universe". Often used in idioms with meanings related to
existence. The nullar, in such idioms, carry a strong meaning of
NON-existence.
timi [timi]
See _ti_.
miCi' [mi"t_hS_hi]
Adverbial particle, "therefore", "because of this", "henceforth".
za'ti ["zati]
Introvertive verb. (1) ``To regard (an idea) from afar'', ``to examine
(an idea)''. Derivatively, "to consider". (2) ``To size up an opponent
from a distance''. Carries the idea of looking thoughtfully with
caution.
ni [ni]
Introduces a relative clause. See "subordinate clauses" in the
attached concise grammar.
di [di]
Terminates a relative clause. See "subordinate clauses" in the
attached concise grammar.
cuga'rai [tSu"gar`a?i]
Gerund. See _cuga're_.
cuga're [tSu"gar`&]
Verb, "to eat".
ke [k&]
1st correlative particle for trichotomies. See "Correlatives" in
grammar.
mipipi' [mipi"pi]
Noun: (1) "pity", "sympathy". (2) "Fuss". An inordinate amount of
lavish attention initially given out of sympathy. (3) Nullar forms:
"indifference", "smugness". Blatant lack of sympathy.
ce [tS&]
See "correlatives" in grammar.
myso' [my"so]
Colloquial contraction of _my'e_ and _0so'_. "It ought not to be so."
my'e ["my?&]
Adverbial particle. "It is not so", "it is not the case that".
ta'ma ["tama]
Verb, "to speak".
oso' [?o"so]
Regular optative particle. See "optatives" in grammar.
oro [?or`o]
Preposition, "the next", "the next occurrence of".
obi' [?o"bi]
Epicene 1st person pronoun. Only occurs rarely, to imitate what others
may say of themselves, without implying either gender to the audience.
re [r`&]
See "correlatives" in grammar.
ta'mai ["tama?i]
Gerund. See _ta'ma_.
aro [?ar`o]
Preposition. "Another", "the other".
bis33'di [bi"s@\:di]
Noun, "person", "human being".
ki- [ki]
Associative prefix. "The first", "the former". See section 2.5 in
online grammar.
naci' [na"tSi]
Neuter distant pronoun. See _jhidi'_. The occurrence of the
associative prefixes with _naci'_ in the 3rd paragraph of the relay
text is very idiomatic: _kinaci'_, _cunaci'_, _ronaci'_, carry the
force of "this thing, that thing, and the other thing". Literally,
"this it, that it, the other it".
cu- [tSu]
Associative prefix. "This one", "the second", "the latter". See
section 2.5 in online grammar.
ro- [r`o]
Associative prefix. Also means "the third", or "the other". (For full
explanation, see section 2.5 in online grammar.)
Ke [k_h&]
1st correlative particle for dichotomies. See "correlatives" in
attached grammar.
keve [keBe]
Conjunction. "And then", "and so", "subsequently".
m3chu'jai [m@\"SudZa?i]
Gerund. See _m3chu'je_.
m3chu'je [m@\"SudZ&]
Introvertive verb, (1) "to dream", "to imagine". The thing being
dreamt is put into the conveyant case; the dreamer in the originative.
The connotation is that dreams are emanating from the dreamer.
(2) Expert terminology for a semi-conscious telepathic communication.
The recipient is in the receptive case.
ve [B&]
2nd correlative particle for dichotomies. (See "Correlatives" in
grammar.)
toka' [to"ka]
Physical verb, "to listen".
rosa'ni [r`o"sani]
"Wisdom", "discreetness". Wisdom in dealing with people and matters.
(Compare _cusa'ni_ and _Kasa'ni_ in the online lexicon.)
ana [ana]
Subjunctive particle. (See "subjunctives & conditionals" in grammar.)
kili [kili]
Dually-inflected back-referencing particle. Refers to the noun in a
preceding sentence agreeing with its referent case; functions as a
noun in its functional case in the current sentence. For example:
esa'ni cwsa'n3. kil0 tww'ma ebu'.
"Esani is clever. *He* spoke to me."
You might think of _kili_ as a short-range pronoun.
le's ["l&s]
Physical verb, "to go". "to move", "to come".
loo'ri ["lo:r`i]
Noun, (1) "countryside", "plains". (2) "outside".
va'i ["Ba?i]
Introvertive verb. (1) "To distort (a thought or word)". The distorter
is in the instrumental case; the distorted in the conveyant. The
originative, if present, indicates the original thing before
distortion. (2) "To (telepathically) assault." Highly arcane
terminology used by the _hoKasanii'_ (the Experts) for an intense,
telepathic assault upon a telepathically-linked victim.
ji't3mi ["dZit@\mi]
Noun. ``Truth'', ``statement of fact'', ``a correct word''.
khe't3mi ["x&t@\mi]
Noun. (1) ``Word of opposition'', ``word of disagreement''.
(2) ``False word'', ``blatant untruth''. Literally, an `anti-word';
either of opposition to another word, or a word opposed to truth.
cugri' [tSu"gri]
Noun, "food" or "drink", "comestible". General term referring to
edible items.
la'zi ["lazi]
Introvertive verb. ``To move on to a topic'', ``to ponder about a
topic''. Describes the direction of thought towards a particular
topic, as when one changes the topic of a conversation. (CAVEAT:
the relay text uses this verb in a slightly different, more idiomatic
sense. Just keep in mind that the idea behind this verb is a
psychological "moving" analogous to the physical movement of the verb
_le's_.)
uta'ro [?u"tar`o]
Preposition. "Away from", "departing from", "away to a distance from",
"dispersing from".
ji'e ["ji?&]
Adverbial particle. "It is so", "it is the case that", "yes".
kele [k&l&]
Sentential back-referencing particle. Refers to what is described in
the previous sentence(s). A sentential or verbal analog of a pronoun;
like a "pro-verb" or "pro-sentence".
kesoKr0's [k&so"k_hr`As]
Physical verb. Literally, "to cuttingly arrange"; i.e., to arrange
into smaller divisions; to separate and lay out in an arrangement.
kekrei' [k&kr&?i]
(1) collective numerical noun, referring to the quantity 3. The first
numerical triad.
(2) idiomatically, "a handful", or "a group".
Think of it as a small analog of the English "dozen". Hence,
kekrei' zo kekrei'
"3 by 3", or "group by group"; literally, "a group and a
group", or "a handful by a handful".
kesobe'jh [k&sob&Z]
Physical verb. Compound of the prefix _keso-_, "to cut" or "divide",
and _be'jh_, "to give".
dini [dini]
A contraction of _di_ and _ni_, used for delimiting multiple relative
clauses that modify the same noun.
icu'ro [?i"tSur`o]
Preposition. "In", "at", "within", "coincident with".
isu' [?i"su]
Temporal particle. Behaves like a receptive noun. "To the future",
"from now on until the future", "continuing into the future".
zota' [zo"ta]
Physical verb, "to look".
fa't3 ["p\at@\]
Physical verb, "to see", "to appear to". The seer is in the RECEPTIVE
case; that which was seen in the originative; the sight itself in
the conveyant.
Perokrei' [p_h&r`okr&"?i]
"Infinity", "countlessly many". Mathematically, the "ultimate triad"
with an infinite value; in common speech, refers to a large number
that the speaker feels he cannot enumerate.
isi' [?isi']
Temporal noun. "Now".
zoro [zor`o]
Nominal conjunction. Contraction of _zo_ (nominal conjunction, "and")
and _oro_. _X zoro X_ is an idiom for "each and every X". Literally,
"an X and the next X".
biji' [bi"dZi]
Noun, "arm". Note that body part names in Ebisedian are always
inflected for the gender of its owner.
sifovy'ai [sip\o"By?a?i]
Compound gerund. See _sifi'_ and _vy'e_.
sifi' [si"p\i]
Noun, "pain", "pain as from a searing flame."
vy'e ["By?&]
Physical verb. (1) ``To spin'', ``to whirl around''. The spinning
thing is in the conveyant case; the cause of the motion, if present,
in the instrumental. (2) ``To twist'', ``to contort'', ``to warp out
of shape''. Derivatively, ``to disintegrate'', ``to crush into pulp''.
The contorted thing is in the conveyant; the receptive may also be
used of the result of the contortion.
r3ji' [r`@\"dZi]
Noun, "leg".
guse'ngai [gu"s&Na?i]
Gerund. See _guse'ng_.
guse'ng [gu"s&N]
Physical verb, "to bind", "to grab", "to take hold of with force",
"to subdue", "to take captive".
cha'rim ["Sar`im]
Noun, "face".
buruba'rai [bur`u"bar`a?i]
Gerund. See _buruba'ra_.
buruba'ra [bur`u"bar`a]
Physical verb. "To pummel (with the fists)", "to strike repeatedly and
rapidly".
l3r3k0'rumi [l@\r`@\"kAr`umi]
Noun. "Flowing color", "liquid color". Technical term referring to
energetic liquid matter ejected from a _Ka'l3ri_, often raining upon
the landmasses where the Ebisedi dwell.
jubrui' [dZubru"?i]
Noun. "The lips".
cw'aa ["tS}?a:]
Gerund. See _cw'e_.
cw'e ["tS}?&]
Physical verb. "To tighten", "to seal", "to lock (a door)", "to
press (a victim) against a wall". Carries the idea of pushing and
screwing something tight.
uro [?ur`o]
Preposition. "This", "this one".
bis33'dochari ["bis@\:doSa%r`i]
Compound noun, "human expression", "expression of humanity",
"personality".
da'mi ["dami]
Introvertive verb. "To speak within oneself", "to think", "to ponder".
The basic meaning is to speak in one's mind.
gha'ngochari ["GaNoSa%r`i]
Compound noun, from _gha'ngi_, a half-height, hunched, humanoid
species in the Ebisedian conworld, stereotypically wild and
beast-like, and _cha'ri_, "expression". Hence, "Ghangi-personality";
"beast-expression".
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
======================================================
Ebisedian Crash-course Grammar (Revised for Relay 6.5)
======================================================
NOUNS
-----
Nouns have 3 attributes: gender, number, and case.
There are 5 genders: masculine, feminine, epicene, neuter, double.
- Noun gender always reflects biological gender.
- Epicene is used when the noun referent is either masculine or feminine
- Neuter is for genderless things and abstract concepts.
- Double is for hermaphroditic creatures and collective nouns referring to
couples.
There are 3 numbers: singular, plural, nullar.
- Plural is often used as an intensive ("much" or "very").
- Nullar indicates the absence of the noun referent. Where possible, the
nullar is preferred over verb negation ("I see none-of-him" is preferred
over "I do not see him").
There are 5 cases: originative, receptive, instrumental, conveyant,
locative.
- Noun case is semantic, and operates according to the Noun Case Model (see
below). IMPORTANT: understanding how noun cases work is *ESSENTIAL* to
making any sense of Ebisedian.
VERBS
-----
Verbs in Ebisedian describe *state changes*. They do NOT describe a static
state of things; for that, nouns are used, and possibly, gerunds derived from
a verb are used. Verbs have 3 attributes: domain, focus, aspect.
There are 3 domains: physical, introvertive, abstract.
- Physical is for physical events
- Introvertive is mainly for psychological events, although it can also refer
to actions performed for one's own sake.
- Abstract is for "collective" events (e.g. verb "to plan" is abstract; it
consists of other actions such as talking, writing, drawing, thinking, etc.)
There are 3 focii: incidental, deliberative, consequential.
- Incidental is for events that just happen
- Deliberative marks events that happened "for a purpose"
- Consequential marks events that result from preceding events.
There are 3 aspects: inceptive, progressive, perfective.
- Inceptive is for events that are starting, or about to start. It is also
used sometimes as an imperative (as in, "start doing this!", or "may this
start happening!").
- Progressive is for events in progress, either interrupted or simultaneous
with another event. It is NOT used for uninterrupted, isolated, continuous
actions; for that, the gerund is used instead.
- Perfective is for complete events, even if completion is in the future. The
progressive is only used when (1) describing "while X is happening, Y also
happened" (2) the event is interrupted.
NOUN CASE MODEL
---------------
Understanding of this model is essential to understanding the meaning of
sentences in Ebisedian. Every sentence fits in the following "mental
model":
Originative: the originating point of something
Receptive: the destination point of something
Instrumental: the thing fuelling the current action from origin to
destination. If a verb is present, instrumental often used as adverb.
The instrumental case of a gerund acts as a participle of the verb it
is derived from. Participles are frequently used to describe a
continuous, unchanging action. (Unchanging in the sense that it is
continuing indefinitely.)
Conveyant: the thing being propelled.
Locative: the place where the conveyant noun is in currently.
To visualize this, think of the conveyant noun, currently sitting in the
locative noun, having come from the originative noun, and heading towards
the receptive noun, being propelled by the instrumental noun (and verb, if
there is one).
This mental model applies both to physical descriptions as well as abstract
concepts. See also the section on Stative Sentences to get a feel for how
this works.
SENTENCE TYPES
--------------
There are a few distinct sentence categories which one should be familiar
with.
Nominator Sentence:
-------------------
Single locative noun or noun-phrase. Sets the topic of subsequent
discourse. Often used as a title, but also used when the speaker wishes to
make several statements about a single topic.
A favorite Ebisedian construct is: <locative noun>. kili <comment>.
kili <comment>. E.g., "That house. It is red, it is big, it has many rooms."
(_kili_ is the back-referencing particle, inflected for two cases.)
Stative sentence:
-----------------
Describes a continual state of things. Stative sentences do not have
verbs. Very idiomatic interplay between noun cases. Common idioms:
1) noun A locative, noun B locative:
A is B.
2) person A, originative; adjectival noun B, conveyant:
A shows forth B. (B is "expressive" attribute)
3) noun A conveyant, noun B locative:
A is in B. Or, B belongs to category A; B is an instance of A.
4) adjectival noun A conveyant, person B receptive:
A is a "receptive attribute" of B.
(E.g. th0't33 ebu' - I(rcp) am tall(cvy).)
5) thing A conveyant, person B receptive:
B is the owner of A (possession).
6) person A conveyant, person B receptive:
A is B's special friend / spouse.
Additionally, a verbal sentence (see below) may be turned into a stative
sentence by replacing the verb with a gerund in the instrumental case. The
arguments to the gerund usually appear in the same cases as they do in a
verbal sentence.
Verbal sentence:
----------------
Only used for events (changes of state). For unchanging state of
things, stative sentences are used instead. Verbal sentence consists of verb
with any combination of nouns. NOTE: multiple nouns in the same case has
"implicit conjunction": _A B_ = "A and B".
Noun cases are chosen according to Noun Case Model. Things to watch out for:
1) _fa't3_ "to see" -- the seer is in the RECEPTIVE, the thing seen in the
ORIGINATIVE.
2) _zota'_ "to look" -- looker in ORIGINATIVE, thing looked at in RECEPTIVE.
3) _le's_ "to go" -- the thing/person going is in the CONVEYANT; originative
and receptive marks the source/destination of the journey.
SUBORDINATE CLAUSES
-------------------
Because of the flat structure of sentences in Ebisedian, almost every noun
modifier has to expressed using subordinate clauses.
Subordinate noun-clauses are marked by the particles _ni_ and _di_. The clause
appears between these two particles. _ni_ introduces the clause, and _di_
terminates the clause. The clause itself may contain nested subclauses; it is
never ambiguous because the particles always match up. (In practice, however,
it rarely goes beyond two levels.)
_ni_ is inflected for number and case, which must agree with the noun being
modified.
_di_ is inflected for case. This case marks the function of the modified noun
within the clause. For example:
ni juli'r d3 biz3tai'.
(loc) (loc) (cvy) (loc)
"The woman in the house." (Literally, "the who-is-in-the-house
woman".)
Here, _ni_ (singular locative) matches biz3tai' (feminine singular locative).
The function of the modified noun (biz3tai') in the subclause is the conveyant
case, because _d3_ is the conveyant of _di_. Therefore, the subclause is
equivalent to:
juli'r b3z3t33'.
(loc) (cvy)
The woman is in the house. (See examples from the "Noun Case Model"
section.)
CORRELATIVES
------------
Correlatives are sentences parallel to each other, that either describe a
chain of successive events, or different views/aspects of the thing being
described. It is similar to the English "on the one hand ... on the other hand
...", except more concise and elegant.
Ebisedian has two kinds of correlatives: the dichotomy (equivalent to the
Classical Greek correlatives _men_ and _de_) and the trichotomy.
Correlatives are marked by correlative particles, which appear at the *end*
of a sentence. Dichotomy particles are _Ke_ and _ve_ (in that order), and
trichotomy particles are _ke_, _ce_, _re_.
INTERROGATIVES
--------------
Questions in Ebisedian are NOT marked by punctuation, although the relay text
we do use question marks, for convenience. Instead, questions are marked by
the presence of one or more *interrogatives*.
The nominal interrogative, _ghi'_, acts as a placeholder for a noun being
inquired about. It may be understood as "what" (or "how", "who", depending on
the context). It may be inflected for gender and number by prefixing with one
of the proper noun prefixes; for genders other than neuter, it specifically
asks for "who". It is always inflected for the appropriate case as the noun
it is querying about, in the question.
Examples:
iso'i ghi'?
(time,loc) (loc)
"What is the time?"
`ygh3' jhi'li?
(fem,cvy) (room,loc)
"Who(fem.) is in the room?" Or, "Ms.-who is in the room?"
gha' lyy's p33'z3d3 loo'ru?
(instr) (go,v) (man,cvy) countryside(rcp)
"By what means did the man go to the countryside?"
OPTATIVES
---------
Ebisedian has 3 optative particles: _uso'_, _oso'_, _0so'_.
The weak optative, _uso'_, marks a sentence as a polite request. It
conveys preference, but without insistence: _uso' lyy's eb3' loo'ru_ --
"Please, I would like to go outside. (But I won't if you insist.)" It is
regarded as very polite.
The regular optative, _oso'_, marks a sentence as a wish. For example,
_oso' cwsa'n3 ebi'_ -- "I wish I were smart."
The strong optative, _0so'_, marks a sentence as an opinion, or a hortative.
It carries a flavor of insistence:
0so' 3jhid33' lyy's moo'ju. "They should have gone to the city."
0so' le's eb0'. "I want you to go away from me!"
0so' cu'm0 tww'ma esa'nu. "I advise you to speak to Esani."
The strong optative may be considered to be second in strength to a direct
verbal imperative (marked by the inceptive aspect of a verb).
SUBJUNCTIVES & CONDITIONALS
---------------------------
The subjunctive particle, _ana_, marks a sentence as hypothetical. For example:
ana eb0' fww't3 jobu' is0'i. "She may have seen me before."
One use of subjunctive particles is to form conditionals:
ana ... keve ...
is the Ebisedian equivalent of the English
if ... then ...
The clause between _ana_ and _keve_ is the *antecedent*, and the clause
following _keve_ is the *consequent*. Note that if the antecedent spans
multiple sentences, _ana_ may be repeated in each sentence to unambiguously
mark it as part of the antecedent.
SUBORDINATE PASSAGES
--------------------
A subordinate passage is a group of sentences circumscribed by the particles
_ti_ and _timi_, respectively. It acts as a single noun-phrase in a parent
sentence. Note that there may be multiple sentences between _ti_ and _timi_;
they are collectively regarded as a single noun-phrase in the sentence.
***CAVEAT: Ebisedian convention fully punctuates such circumscribed sentences;
so that a sentence break is always found before _timi_. This should NOT be
regarded as the end of the parent sentence.
Subordinate passages mainly act as QUOTED DISCOURSE; as such, you will
probably always see them with the verb _ta'ma_, "to speak". For example:
mil3d30' tww'ma t3 `ymai'. ghi' jwb3? t3m3.
"The girl said, `Mother! where are you?'.''
Note that _ti_ and _timi_ are both inflected for case, appropriate to the its
function in the parent sentence. Notice here that _ti_ and _timi_ enclose two
sentences here. Note that occasionally, you may see correlative (or other)
particles following the _timi_; in such cases, they must always be regarded as
belonging to the parent sentence.
Another use of subordinate passages is to explain the cause or goal of an
event. Examples:
1) t0 jhit0' kyy'kh co'mu is0'i t0m0 cw'm3 g3ma'raa jhitu'.
"*Because she had harmed him before*, he (continually) thinks harm to
her."
2) b33'l3n3 ryy's jolu'r tu tww'ma pi'du tumu.
"The boy ran into the house, *to speak to (his) father*."
Notice that the subordinate passage is inflected for case, to function as a
noun to the verb in the sentence.
Be aware that sometimes subordinate passages may be NESTED.
PRONOUNS
--------
Ebisedian has an unusual pronominal system. It has first person singular
pronouns as usual; but the other pronouns are not divided by person. Instead,
they are classified as "intimate" or "distant".
Intimate pronouns are always used to refer to those whom the speaker regards
as close to him, on his side of a debate, in his "inner circle" of friends,
regardless of whether he is addressing them or not. Similarly, distant
pronouns are used for those he regards as distant and impersonal, regardless
of whether he is addressing them. Distant pronouns are also used in formal
settings, where intimate pronouns are deemed inappropriate.
Pronouns are frequently used as a form of address. When used in this way, it
establishes the terms on which the speaker will deal with the audience;
whether he regards the addressee as distant or intimate, whether he will speak
to the addressee intimately or impersonally.
The intimate pronoun may be (very crudely) understood as "my dear" or "my
fellow"; and the distant pronoun may be (very crudely) understood as "my dear
stranger" or "my dear opponent".
[Please also see the section on "noun association" in the online grammar.
Noun association is quite important to understanding pronouns in Ebisedian.]
NUMBERS
-------
Cardinal numbers
----------------
Cardinal numbers are formed by taking the radix form of a noun, and prefixing
it onto a number noun. For example:
mangi' "horse"
3Pei' "five"
--> 3mangoPei' "five horses"
[There is not enough space here to include a discussion on the triad-based
counting system of Ebisedian; for more details, please consult the reference
grammar.]
END OF CRASH COURSE
===================