Quotations

Quotations
Silčoi

Contents:
     Direct Quotations
     Indirect Quotations
     Quoting Questions
         Questions within Questions
     Quoted Imperatives

Direct Quotations
Delat Silčoi

These are easy enough. A whole quote can be followed by a verb for "say" or "ask" etc.

"Viom bilitir mu blovaz" zduaiš.
already tickets-GEN NEG remain-3PL " say-3SG:PAST
"There aren't any tickets left," he said.
"Beklyaǩ! żKudu yuraǩ?" naǩuaim.
wait-2PL:IMP ! where-DAT go-2PL ?" yell-1SG:PAST
"Wait! Where are you going?" I yelled.

Inversions are very common with quotations, and the subject and object prepositions are used on whatever's out of place:

Točet zduaiš o "Sreru yurye!"
father say-3SG:PST OBJ " bed-DAT go-2:IMP !"
Dad said, "Go to bed!"
"żToya afto lai če?" jarhioš ai miliciarnok.
this car your be:3SG ?" ask-3SG:PAST SUBJ police:officer
"Is this car yours?" the police officer asked.

The person that is spoken to (or yelled at, or told, or asked) is always in the dative case:

"żČu u nietukhazu yurak smam?" oširnoku jarhioš ai Toma.
QU to washroom-DAT go-INF may-1SG ?" teacher-DAT ask-3SG:PAST SUBJ Toma.
Toma asked the teacher, "May I go to the washroom?"

Indirect Quotations
Midelat Silčoi

To tell what is said without using the exact words, the word du "the fact that..." is used. This is the same du that was introduced in question words.

Fratu du nunja pregat če radyet.
brother-DAT THAT dinner ready be:3SG tell-2SG:IMP
Tell your brother that dinner's ready.
żDu olgabrac dangnijak smat ču zduaim ve?!
THAT blindfold(-ACC) remove-INF may-2SG QU say-1SG:PAST EMPH
Did I say you could take off the blindfold?!

The clause with du can be the object of all kinds of verbs, like "know", "believe", "hear" etc.

Du čevez yere ǩrudam.
THAT expensive be:3SG:FUT think-1SG
I think it'll be expensive.
Jeram du kujor čedzlozaiš šiznebulmaiš.
Jeram THAT girlfriend cheat-3SG:PAST discover-3SG
Jeram found out that his girlfriend cheated on him.

The du is often dropped at the beginning of a sentence, but preserved in inversions:

Todom yen nahkirzi zduaiz.
here-INST us:ACC meet-3PL:FUT say-3PL:PAST
They said they'll meet us here.
Paikure šizne, du vöš goroiigiš.
everyone know-3SG , THAT world round-BE-3SG
Everyone knows the world is round.

o du, while technically correct, isn't used.

Quoting Questions
Jarhoin Silček

In direct quotation, questions are the same as anything else: zdua(š) o "..." or "..." zdua(š) etc. But indirectly quoting a question means saying something like "I asked if/whether..." or "she wants to know when/where...". In those cases, the "whether/when/where/etc" clause is phrased as a whole question that could stand alone, and the quoting "said/asked" part is attached to the entire thing (and the same rules for inversions apply). So, the indirect question is like one of those du-clauses from above. While these sentences can start with a du, this is awkward beyond any use.

Kudom denk huzdiot yant radyet.
where-INST money(-ACC) hide-2SG:PAST me:DAT tell-2SG:IMP
    Tell me where you hid the money.
Ču viom nunjan hošat ai kaš jarhe.
QU yet dinner-ACC want-2SG SUBJ mother ask-3SG
    Mom's asking if you want dinner yet.

Šiznek zburham, čaze iksažnibza čem!
know-INF demand-1SG , why imprison-PASS be:1SG
    I demand to know why I'm being imprisoned!

This last sentence could also have an o before čaze (because "why..." is the object of "know"). Also, note that ču handles "if/whether". All of these start out with a complete question, but in speech the intonation is different for an indirect question than for one being asked directly. In writing, however, the sentence can look like a true question until you reach the end of the question-clause, and there might be some confusion. This is one of the reasons for the use of a Spanish-style inverse question mark ż to open questions (it also comes in very handy when reading aloud).

QUESTIONS WITHIN QUESTIONS
I Jarhoim Jarhoi

Here, a question is quoted inside a sentence another question. This works like the quoted questions above, but don't forget to open the question with a ż:

żČu lozt radioš o kudom denk huzdioš?
QU you:DAT OBJ where-INST money(-ACC) hide-3SG:PAST
Did he tell you where he hid the money?
żČorod Ferinstanzu deštir ču Tomat jarhiot?
When Ferinstanz-DAT leave-3SG:FUT QU Toma-DAT ask-2SG:PAST
Did you ask Toma when he's heading out to Ferinstanz?

(Ferinstanz is a state, or dvelet, in Rhea. Thanks to J Y S "Hanuman" Czhang for inadvertently naming the place)

Quoted Imperatives
Silčabza Emirkeir

Quoting a command in Rhean is fairly straightforward -- if you're thinking in Rhean. To an English speaker, the construction is strange. Don't worry; there is some sense behind it. You'll need to understand the Rhean imperative, why there are six forms for it, and how these forms are used.
The first thing to know about quoting a command in Rhean is that it stays in the imperative:

Čarad: Paiyem u lomat yuryemu!
Kizi: żKuin zduaiš?
Sen: Du u lomat yuryemu zduaiš.
Charad: Let's all go to the pool!
Kizi: What did he say?
Sen: He said we should go to the pool.

This is easy enough when the subject remains the same from the original utterance to the quote, but often the person marked on the verb as to change. In these cases the suffix changes as appropriate but the verb still remains an imperative:

Original:
Eya glüp u laǩudu yuryeš!
that idiot to hell-DAT go-3SG:IMP
That idiot can go to hell! (May that idiot...)
Quote:
Du u laǩudu yuryet zduaiš.
THAT to hell-DAT go-2SG:IMP say-3SG:PAST
He said you can go to hell. (He said to...)

Often these come in constructions like "tell so-and-so to do such-and-such". (Don't be confused by the imperative on "tell" etc. We're dealing with the quoted verb.)

Original:
Foc melunyanie unteǧyeš radyet ve.
slight slower-ADV drive-3SG:IMP tell-2SG:IMP EMPH
    Tell him to drive a little slower, huh?
Quote:
Foc melunyanie unteǧyat kraza.
slight slower-ADV drive-2SG:IMP please
    Please drive a bit slower.
or
Du foc melunyanie unteǧyat canomuioš.
THAT slight slower-ADV drive-2SG:IMP request-3SG:PAST
    He asked you to drive a bit slower. (He requests that you...)

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