Béu : Chapter 9 : Word Building
..... Assembling word
..
Many béu words can be analysed as being constructed from more basic elements.
In chapter 5 we showed how a noun could be made out of two basic nouns.
This chapter is all about these non-basic words.
Divided into 32 sections.
..
.... Nut ... -TU
..
bautu = nut
..
Ground nut = Monkey nut =
..
.... Tree ... -PO
..
ʔupo = tree
..
Apple trees = amapo
Mango trees = byopo
..
.... Berry ... -TI
..
paiti = berry
..
grape = mozeti (o) : (i) => mozetai
olive = oil.berry
strawberry = ? shadeberry ?
raspberry = thicket berry or clusterberry
blaclberry = thicket berry or clusterberry
cranberry =
gooseberry = melon.berry
black currants = ?
currants = ?
bilberry =
grouseberry = N.A.berry ?
lingonberry = bluti (o) : (i) => blutai
blueberry = helati (o) : (i) => helatai
lychee = longan = deer.eye : lychee = deer.eye sour : longan = deer.eye sweet ... these ones have no -ti affix.
..
.... Book .... -LI
..
toili = book
..
A dictionary = nandauli
A text book = megauli
A manual = An instruction manual = ??
A cook book = ntuli
A story book = A novel = ??
A factual book = ??
..
.... Fish ... -NYI
..
sainyi = a fish
..
cuttlefish = byonyi
cod
herring
trout
mackerel
plaice
skate
salmon = salinyi < salia "to jump"
pike
..
.... Shop .... -FU
..
kanfu = shop/stall
..
kanfu pabla = a stall .... "stall" usually simply designated as pabla "table"
gozəfu = a fruit shop, a fruit stall
..
.... Fruits ... -SO
..
gozo = fruit
..
orange = koizo < sun fruit
mango = byozo
pineapple =
pear =
peach =
banana =
cherry =
rambutan =
durian =
jackfruit =
..
apple = halma
We do not want a "unit", "boat".
⁕⁕nandauli is a good example of béu word building. toili = book, nandau = word, toili nandaun = book of words. However if two words such as these geudidau means extended word. It is also a good example of an extended word, in itself.
geuda is a verb meanbéuing to extend in one direction (usually not up). geudo is an noun meaning an extension or appendix. geudi is an adjective meaning extended.
nandau geudi = extended word ... now when a noun and a following adjective occur together a lot (and maybe take on a meaning slightly different) the concept they represent is normally upgraded to a word, by deleting all but the last CV (consonant vowel) in the first word, and sticking this CV on to the end of the second word.
Hence we get geudidau. In theory there is no limit to the combinations that can occur. However in practice (outside of technical language) there are slightly under a hundred different CV's, and the number of elements that every CV can combine with, varies from 3 or 4 up to about 40.
In English we have a number of common endings, such as "-ism", "-ology", "ist", etc. etc. In béu the end-stuck CV's can be thought of as equivalent to these English endings : the main difference is that this word building process is much more prevalent in béu.
The CV -dau (from nandau) is found in combination with a number of other elements. For example ;-
Note that in the last example, the meaning of the extended word has shifted a bit with respect to the meaning of the original words.
It is possible to extend further an extended word. For example ;-
kaza is an adjective meaning compicated and also is a noun meaning "a complicated thing" or "a complex".
kaza cwipadaun = a complex of a noun => cwipadauza = a noun phrase
..
.... Leaf ..... -PAI
..
lapai = a leaf
..
Apple tree leaf = almapai
Mango tree leaf = byopai
etc. etc. etc.
..
.... Tool ...... -?O
..
gau?o = a tool
..
This is actually an infix. It signifies a tool that facilitates the action. For example ...
kludau = to write : kluda?o = a pen
solbe = to drink : solbe?o = a straw
pluga = to plow, till : plu?o = a plow ... a contraction of pluga?o of course
cwá = to cross : cwa?o = a bridge
kwè = to turn : kwe?o = an axle
bái = to rise : bai?o = a ladder
An interesting extention of the above is mabai?o meaning "index", "table of contents", "look up table" or "list"
It means literally "a duo of ladders" ... the idea behind this word can be seen below ...
In English "list" can be thought of as one dimensional ... in béu however, two dimentional ... either with a column numbering each item, or a column for ticking off after an item has been dealt with (bought).
Table or matrix are translated using the ...béu word for "net".
slòi = to flow : sloi?o = drains
pila = to set/place/position/to put something in its proper position and orientation : pila?o = the 17 particles that show "case"
..
.. Place ...... -DA
..
hada = place
..
kludau = to write : kludada = a scriptorium
flò = to eat : floda = a restaurant
solbe = to drink : solbeda = a bar
dwè = to store : dweda = warehouse
..
.. Liquid ...... -SE
..
moze = water
..
almaze = apple juice
koize = orange juice
habian = bee
bianze = honey ... (some erosion here)
fainze = sauce : fáin = to enrich
..
.. Group ....... -DE
..
mande = group
Note ... the plural of boido "friend" is boide. As is the plural of keudo "enemy. So to say "a group of friends" = mande boide
..
.. Master ...... -GU
..
gù = master, lord
..
landlord
houselord
shiplord
Also some agjectives from this construction ...
taigu = free < self.master
mpugu = democratic
..
.. Air/gas ...... -LU
..
kalu = Air/gas
..
hydrogen = first.lu
helium = koilu
neon = unmixinglu second
argon = unmixinglu third
krupton = unmixinglu forth
clean = cadai ....
chlorine = cadakuzlu < cadakuʒi-lu
bromine = cadakuze < cadakuʒi-ze
iodine = cadakuʒi- ???
strontium = caimoi fairy metal
..
.. Word ...... -DAU
..
nandau = A word
..
adjective = saidau
..
sky.sound = a vowel sky.sound.za = a diphthong or a triphthong sky.sound. nyo = a vowel OR a diphthong/triphthong
earth.sound = a consonant earth.sound.za = a consonant cluster earth.sound.nyo = a consonant OR a consonant cluster
..
.. Metal ...... -MOI
..
delmoi = metal
..
copper = ʔolimoi
bronze = pwemoi
iron/steel = gumoi
tin = fujemoi
lead = wobumoi
aluminium = yekimoi
zinc <= needle ??
cadmium = zinc.ita
gold = koimoi ... kòi = sun, day (24 hours)
silver = deumoi ... dèu = moon
..
A Walker Scott ----
..
Palladium is literally "wimp platinum".
pruvdrangphwéo ['pʰɹuv.dɹɐŋ.ɸwø] n. palladium ...... heavy silver
drrog-hlyś ['drɔɡ.ɬyɕ] n. thulium ... hlyś [ɬyɕ] n. wimp : drrog = metal
ñongbbuegh ['ɲɔŋ.bʱɯɣ] n. cadmium < zinc.shit : bbuegh ['bʱɯɣ] n. excrement
..
.. Fellow ..... -PEU
..
ampeu = a comrade, a fellow, a peer, someone of the same social status as you and on friendly terms with you. Not exactly a friend but you rub along with this person for mutual advantage. Emotionally neutral ... between friend and enemy.
..
polji = womb ... polpeu = a twin, a triplet etc ... polpau = (twins) (i.e. two of them)
hodo = class (in a school) ... hodəpeu = a class mate
donəpeu = a companion
yearpeu = somebody born in the same year as you
namepeu = a namesake, somebody with the same name as you
countrypeu = a compatriate
gòs = aim, objective, purpose, goal ... gospeu = a comrade, a fellow traveller
All these words are their own plural
..
.. Member ..... -CO
..
This one deletes the last vowel of the root if attached to a diphthong ...... like -ko or -da or -la.
kuda = a shop .... kanfu ??
kudaco = a shop assistant
beuco = an active member of the béu community ... as opposed to a beumai who follows béu in a private manner ???
..
.. Station ...... -HEU
..
farm = anhèu .... i.e. a sort of spread out place where many activities take place. There are store houses and/or workshops related to these different activities plus a fair amount of open space. From this original meaning, hèu has become an affix with the meaning "station". As in police station, army base, petrol station, townhall etc. etc.
..
ngeuheu = an airport
gaugoheu = factory .... gaugo = workshop
tunheu = a townhall .... tun = rule, power
..
school is not hauheu rather it is banhai ... just one of these things
.. Wagon ...... -WEU
..
wèu = A vehicle, a wagon
..
train = soweu
bus = liloweu => loweu
..
.. Building ....... -GO
..
jengo = building ... from the verb ... jenga = "to build" < Swahili
..
gaugo = workshop
haugo = schoolhouse ... a very small village would have haugo ... maybe one room and one teacher : A city would have banhai
dwego = a godown, warehouse
whorehouse
bath-house
..
.. Subject ....... -GAU
..
A field of study, a subject = megau
..
peugagau = the entirety of human knowledge
slaigau = calculus
noigau = arithmetic
limbagau = linguistics
..
.. Language ....... -BA
..
A tongue, a language = limba
..
englaba = English
flozeba = French
doicaba = German
italyaba = Italian
..
.. Mistress ....... -GWI
..
Any compounds formed with -gu can also form with -gwi
..
.. Machine ...... -NYO
..
ploinyo = a machine
..
gàu = to do : gaunyo = a robot
blá = to speak : blanyo = the telephone
wè = to think : wenyo = a computer
ngeu = to fly : ngeunyo = an aeroplane
bái = to rise : bainyo = an elevator
kwè = to turn : kwenyo = lathe
heca = to see : henyo = TV <= hecanyo
..
wèu = a vehicle : weunyo = a motor, an engine
..
-NYO together with the -YO (powder < ponyo) tell us something interesting about béu syllable boundaries. In Ch 1, in the section "Word Medial" we can see that 35 consonant clusters can occur word medially. Normally these clusters are split between the syllables. For example pon-yo. However if the first syllable has a diphthong AND the consonant cluster is identical to one of the clusters allowed word initially, then the entire consonant cluster is in the second syllable. Hence ploinyo (which is a basic word and in no way derived) would be ploi-nyo.
Look back at ... Ch 5, "Assembling words".
..
.. Small birds ...... -DI
..
bodi = a small bird
..
robin = halondi < halon = red hot coal lump
swift = sacodi < Swifts are the fastest of birds. Larger species are amongst the fastest fliers in the animal kingdom, with the white-throated needletail having been reported flying at up to 169 km/h (105 mph). Even the common swift can cruise at a maximum speed of 31 m/s or 112 km/h (70 mph).
swallow = taigudi < The swallow is called the "bird of freedom" because it cannot endure captivity and will only mate in the wild
tit = "chattering"
starling = "echo" < Starlings have diverse and complex vocalizations and have been known to embed sounds from their surroundings into their own calls, including car alarms and human speech patterns.
thrush/blackbird = autedi "blackishbird"
..
.. Container ....... -COI
..
A container = mencoi
..
.. Stuff/powder ..... -YO
..
powder = ponyo
..
bunduyo = cement
wheatyo = flour
maizeyo = maize flour
ʔazwoyo = milk powder
fainyo = condiment : fáin = to enrich
..
.. Volume/room ... -ʔAU
..
foʔau = volume, room
..
mozeʔau = bathrooom < fo?au moze
mauma?au = bedroom
nje?au = livingroom
dwe?au = store room
kyo?au = waiting room
ntu?au = kitchen
..
The 6 regular shapes in 4 dimensions ...
foʔadan = a 5-cell < odan fo?au
foʔazan = an 8-cell
foʔajaigan = a 16-cell < ajaigan fo?au
foʔafain = a 24-cell < ifain fo?au
foʔapain = 120-cell < yapain fo?au
foʔagaufain = 600-cell < 42012 < egaufain fo?au
THE NUMBERS ABOVE NEED UPDATING
..
.. Belief/theory ... - GAI
..
Index
- Introduction to Béu
- Béu : Chapter 1 : The Sounds
- Béu : Chapter 2 : The Noun
- Béu : Chapter 3 : The Verb
- Béu : Chapter 4 : Adjective
- Béu : Chapter 5 : Questions
- Béu : Chapter 6 : Derivations
- Béu : Chapter 7 : Way of Life 1
- Béu : Chapter 8 : Way of life 2
- Béu : Chapter 9 : Word Building
- Béu : Chapter 10 : Gerund Phrase
- Béu : Discarded Stuff
- A statistical explanation for the counter-factual/past-tense conflation in conditional sentences