Kingspeech

Kingspeech (He La)
Pronounced:	[e˥ la˩]
Timeline and Universe:	Semiramis Universe, Post-Catastrophe
Species:	Post-Catastrophe Hominid
Spoken:	Phazum (planet)
Total speakers:	c. 1,500 in Phazum
Writing system:	Unknown
Genealogy:	Isolate
Typology:
Morphology:	Isolating
Morphosyntax:	Accusative
Word order:	SVO
Credits
Creator:	Linguarum Magister
Created:	2012

Kingspeech is the autochthonous language of the re-uplifted hominids of the planet Phazum. Although the name Kingspeech originally derived from the native parasites of the planet Phazum that cost the original settlers their intelligence and free will, the speakers of the language later viewed this appellation as derogatory. Currently, there are three names used for the language of the Phazumites. He Ya indicates male speech. He Śa indicates female speech. Neither of these are secret society tongues, but He Śa is more archaic. He La indicates the speech as a whole, but is used more by the Transpositive Men who are engineering the re-uplift.

Syllable Structure

Syllable structure in E La is (C)V(G) or (C)(G)V. High vowels /i/ [i] and /u/ [u] become the related glides [i] /j/ and [u] /w/ if not followed by an identical vowel.

Phonology

The detailed phonology of He La contains fifteen consonants and sixteen vowels, of which five are short, five are long, and six are diphthongs. The differences between He Śa or He Ya lie in the presence or absence of consonants and the number and choice of tones. For ease of presentation, the entire phonology will be treated together. The nasals of He La are /m/ [m] and /n/ [n]. Both take a high tone on the vowel.

The other sonorants, /r/ [r], /w/ [w], and /y/ [j] take low tone on the vowel. /y/ [j] only appears in He Ya.

The fricatives /s/ [s] /ś/ [ɫ], and /h/ [h] take high tone on the vowel. /ś/ [ɫ] only appears in He Śa. /h/ [h] appears in both, but is only pronounced in He Śa.

Obstruents vary in tone according to the voicing of the consonants - syllables beginning with /p/, /t/, /k/; syllables beginning with /b/, /d/, /g/ receive low tone.

/l/ [l] and the zero-onset (unmarked) also receive low tone. He La has a standard five-vowel system /a/ [a] /e/ [e] /i/ [i] /o/ [o] /u/ [u]. Long versions of these are the result of identical adjacent vowels. The diphthongs /ai/ [ai] /ei/ [ei] /oi/ [oi] /au/ [au] /eu/ [eu] /ou/ [ou] all contain a high vowel as a component.

There are three tones in He Śa and four in He Ya. The common He La tones are the register tones of high ˥ and low ˩ discussed above. The third tone of He Śa is a level mid tone ˧ derived from a high falling tone ˥˩ from the combination of a high tone ˥ followed by a low tone ˩. He Ya has two contour tones; the high falling tone ˥˩ mentioned above, one of the few ways in which He Ya is more conservative than He Śa, and a low rising tone ˩˥ absent in He Śa, the result of the opposite convergence, a low tone followed by a high tone. The tone is absent in He Śa because the audible /h/ [h] prevents coalescence of otherwise adjacent vowels.

Vocabulary

The initial vocabulary of He La appears to have been based on an ancient hypothesis once known as Natural Semantic Metatheory (NSM), from the time of the Mother Planet. The speakers, however, rapidly expanded from this base.

Substantives (Class 1)

I/me – a

You – i

Someone/Person – u; this is used only for hominids and other intelligent beings

People – e

Derivatives of Class 1

We (incl) - ai

We (excl) - au

You (pl) - ii, ye (< ie)

They - we (< ue)

Clan/Family - wu (< uu)

Species - ee

Stranger - ei

Relational Substantives (Class 2)

Something/Thing – hu; this form is used for beasts and un-uplifted Phazumites.

Body – ha

Kind – he

Part - hi

Derivatives of Class 2

huhu - category

Determiners (Class 3)

This – sa 'this'; sasa 'that'

Same – si 'same'; sisi 'similar'

Other – su 'other'; susu 'different'

Derivatives of Class 3

sau - this person

sasau - that person

siu - the same person

sisiu - a similar person

suu - another person

susuu - a different person

Quantifiers (Class 4)

One – wa 'one'; REDUP wawa 'unique'

Two – wi 'two'; REDUP wiwi 'complimentary'

Some – wu 'some'; REDUP wuwu 'few'

All – we 'all'; REDUP wewe 'most'

Many/Much – wo 'much, many'; REDUP wowo 'almost all'

Evaluators (Class 5)

Good - ta

Bad – ti

Descriptors (Class 6)

Big – pa; to pa 'big' tu pa 'very big'; REDUP to papa 'bigger' tu papa 'biggest'

Small – pi

Mental/Experiential Predicates (Class 7)

Think – ba 'think': REDUP baba 'contemplate'

Know – bi 'know'; REDUP bibi 'study; be wise'

Want – bu

Feel – be

See – bo 'see'; REDUP bobo 'look at'

Hear – papa (< pa); here reduplication disambiguated this form from pa 'big'

Must - pu

Derivatives of Class 7

bau - scientist; Transpositive Man

biu - story-teller

papau - audience

Speech (Class 8)

Say – ya (la); REDUP yaya (lala) 'speak'

Word – yi (li); REDUP yiyi (lili) 'words, vocabulary'

Truth – yu (lu); REDUP yuyu (lulu) 'accurate'

Derivatives of Class 8

yau - a loquent

Actions and Events (Class 9)

Do – za; REDUP zaza 'practice'

Happen – zi

Move – zu

Derivatives of Class 9

zau -actor; subject (gram.)

ziu - patient; object (gram.)

uzu - traveller; verb (gram.)

Existence and Possession (Class 10)

There Is/Exist – ma; REDUP mama 'world'

Have – mi; REDUP mimi 'be a characteristic of'

Life and Death (Class 11)

Live – la (śa)

Die – li (śi)

Time (Class 12)

Time – da

Now – da ri

Before – da ru

After – da re

A long time – da ro

A short time – da na

For some time – da nu

Moment – da ne

Space (Class 13)

Where/Place – ra; REDUP rara 'LOC'

Here – (ra) ri; REDUP riri 'LOC'

Above – (ra) ru; REDUP ruru 'above'

Below – (ra) re; REDUP rere 'below, underneath'

Far – (ra) ro; REDUP roro 'far from, away from'

Near – (ra) na; REDUP nana 'near, towards'

Side – (ra) ni; REDUP nini 'next to, beside'

Inside – (ra) nu; REDUP nunu 'inside'

Touch (Contact) – ne; REDUP nene 'touching'

Derivatives of Class 13

rau - family

rou - stranger

nau - neighbor

nuu - woman; wife

neu - wife

Logical Concepts (Class 14)

Not – ga; REDUP gaga 'never'

Maybe – gi; REDUP gigi 'almost certainly not'

Can – gu

Because – ge; REDUP gege 'therefore'

If – go; REDUP gogo 'then'

Derivatives of Class 14

gagi - certainly

gagu - cannot

Intensifier, Augmentor (Class 15)

Very – tu

More – to

Similarity (Class 16)

Like/Way - pupu (< pu); here reduplication allows disambiguation from pu 'must'.

Reduplication

Reduplication is a productive process in E La, but its effect depends on the class of the word involved.

Reduplication in verbs creates a durative or iterative sense.

ne 'touch' > nene 'touch repeatedly'

za 'do' > zaza 'practice'

Reduplication in non-location nouns creates a collective.

u 'person' > uu 'clan, family'

e 'people' > ee 'species'

Reduplication of location nouns creates prepositions.

nu 'inside' > nunu zuhu 'inside the beast'

nu 'inside' > nunui 'inside me'

An example of the difference between reduplications and lack thereof follows. nuu 'wife' is a compound noun composed of nu 'inside (noun)' and u 'person', while nunuu 'inside him/her' is a prepositional phrase composed of a reduplicated preposition nunu 'inside (preposition)' and u 'person'.

Likewise, sau to papa sasau 'this man is bigger than that man' can become sau to papau 'this man is bigger than he is'.

Adjectives

Simple adjectives, those composed of one syllable, form an adjectival comparative by placing 'to' before the adjective and an adjectival superlative by replacing 'to' with 'tu'. An adverbial comparative and superlative are formed by reduplication.

pa 'big'

to pa 'bigger'

tu pa 'very big'

to papa 'bigger than'

tu papa 'biggest'

Texts and Translations

The Animal-beater

Unenezuhu

Paroda mau-sau nene zuhu sahu be ti.

Suu zu sau suu bu bi sahu: i nene sahu rige?

Sau la: Sahu bi sane gabi sune.

A pu ne sahu zuda sihu bi za ta.

Sau zu nu siu nunu ra siu bo suhu.

Sau nuu gaza nuuta.

Sazi gesihu: sau ne siu nuu be ti.

Nau papa nuu ne nuu pala nunu nura.

Nau la: i pu gane i nuu da-da-da

Neu la: a neu zuda siu bi za nuutata.

Dazusa nau bo neu ne siu piu rara zazipau.

Sada nau gala u nau gegazu neu ne siu he zuzapihu.

Rada siu bu bi sahu: i ne a rige?

Nau la: a bu nei zuda ui za sahu: i ganene suu-suhu.

He Who Habitually Beat His Animal

Long ago there was a man who beat his animal.

Another man went to this man and asked this thing: why do you beat this animal?

This man answered: This animal knows this touch and does not know another touch. I must beat this animal until this same animal knows how to do good.

This man went inside, the same man was inside, the same man saw a different thing.

This man’s wife did not do wifely good things.

This thing happened because of this same thing above: this man beat his own wife.

A neighbor heard the beating of the wife because the wife screamed inside the house.

The neighbor said: you should not beat your wife so frequently.

The beater said: I beat her until she (this same person) knows how to do wifely good things better.

Later the neighbor saw the beater beating his own (the beater’s) son in the field.

This time the neighbor did not speak but he (the neighbor) held the beater and beat him (the same person, i.e., the beater) with a stick.

Now the same man (the beater) asked this thing: why are you beating me?

The neighbor said: I will beat you until you do this thing: you cease to beat other people and other animals.

Unenezuhu

[u˩.ne˥.ne˥.zu˩.hu˥]

Paroda mau-sau nene zuhu sahu be ti.

[pa˥.ro˩.da˩ mau˧ sau˧ ne˥.ne˥ zu˩.hu˥ sa˥.hu˥ be˩ ti˥]

Suu zu sau suu bu bi sahu: i nene sahu rige?

[su: ˧ zu˩ sau˧ su: ˧ bu˩ bi˩ sa˥.hu˥ i˩ ne˥.ne˥ sa˥.hu˥ ri˩.ge˩]

Sau la: Sahu bi sane gabi sune.

[sau ˧ la˩ sa˥.hu˥ bi˩ sa˥.ne˥ ga˩.bi˩ su˥.ne˥]

A pu ne sahu zuda sihu bi za ta.

[a˩ pu˥ ne˥ sa˥.hu˥ zu˩.da˩ si˥.hu˥ bi˩ za˩ ta˥]

Sau zu nu siu nunu ra siu bo suhu.

[sau ˧ zu˩ nu˥ sju ˧ nu˥.nu˥ ra˩ sju ˧ bo˩ su˥.hu˥]

Sau nuu gaza nuuta.

[sau ˧ nu: ˧ ga˩.za˩ nu: ˧ ta˥]

Sazi gesihu: sau ne siu nuu be ti.

[sa˥.zi˩ ge˩.si˥.hu˥ sau ˧ ne˥ sju ˧ nu: ˧ be˩ ti˥]

Nau papa nuu ne nuu pala nunu nura.

[nau ˧ pa˥.pa˥ nu: ˧ ne˥ nu: ˧ pa˥.la˩ nu˥.nu˥ nu˥.ra]

Nau la: i pu gane i nuu da-da-da

[nau ˧ la˩ i˩ pu˥ ga˩.ne˥ i˩ nu: ˧ da˩ da˩ da˩]

Neu la: a neu zuda siu bi za nuutata.

[neu ˧ la˩ a˩ neu ˧ zuda sju ˧ bi˩ za˩ nu:. ˧ ta˥.ta˥]

Dazusa nau bo neu ne siu piu rara zazipau.

[da˩.zu˩.sa˥ nau ˧ bo˩ neu ˧ ne˥ sju ˧ pju ˧ ra˩.ra˩ za˩.zi˩.pau ˧]

Sada nau gala u nau gegazu neu ne siu he zuzapihu.

[sa˥.da˩ nau ˧ ga˩.la˩ u˩ nau ˧ ge˩.ga˩.zu˩ neu ˧ ne˥ sju ˧ he˥ zu˩.za˩.pi˥.hu˥]

Rada siu bu bi sahu: i ne a rige?

[ra˩.da˩ sju ˧ bu˩ bi˩ sa˥.hu ˥ i˩ ne˥ a˩ ri˩.ge˩]

Nau la: a bu nei zuda i za sahu: i ganene suu-suhu.

[nau ˧ la˩ a˩ bu˩ nei ˧ zu˩.da˩ i˩ za˩ sa˥.hu˥ i˩ ga˩.ne˥.ne˥ su: ˧ -su˥.hu˥]

Unenezuhu

[u˩.ne˥.ne˥.zu:˩˥]

Parodau ma-sau nene zuhu sahu be ti.

[pa˥.ro˩.dau˩ ma˥ sau˥˩ ne˥.ne˥ zu:˩˥ sau˥ be˩ ti˥]

Suu zu sau suu bu bi sahu: i nene sahu rige?

[su: ˥˩ zu˩ sau˥˩ su: ˥˩ bu˩ bi˩ sau˥ i˩ ne˥.ne˥ sau˥ ri˩.ge˩]

Sau ya: Sahu bi sane gabi sune.

[sau ˥˩ ja˩ sau˥ bi˩ sa˥.ne˥ ga˩.bi˩ su˥.ne˥]

A pu ne sahu zuda sihu bi za ta.

[a˩ pu˥ ne˥ sau˥ zu˩.da˩ sju˥ bi˩ za˩ ta˥]

Sau zu nu siu nunu ra siu bo suhu.

[sau ˥˩ zu˩ nu˥ sju ˥˩ nu˥.nu˥ ra˩ sju ˥˩ bo˩ su:˥]

Sau nuu gaza nuuta.

[sau ˥˩ nu: ˥˩ ga˩.za˩ nu: ˥˩ ta˥]

Sazi gesihu: sau ne siu nuu be ti.

[sa˥.zi˩ ge˩.sju˥ sau ˥˩ ne˥ sju ˥˩ nu: ˥˩ be˩ ti˥]

Nau papa nuu ne nuu pala nunu nura.

[nau ˥˩ pa˥.pa˥ nu: ˥˩ ne˥ nu: ˥˩ pa˥.la˩ nu˥.nu˥ nu˥.ra]

Nau ya: i pu gane i nuu da-da-da

[nau ˥˩ ja˩ i˩ pu˥ ga˩.ne˥ i˩ nu: ˥˩ da˩ da˩ da˩]

Neu ya: a neu zuda siu bi za nuutata.

[neu ˥˩ ja˩ a˩ neu ˥˩ zu. ˩da˩ sju ˥˩ bi˩ za˩ nu:. ˥˩ ta˥.ta˥]

Dazusa nau bo neu ne siu piu rara zazipau.

[da˩.zu˩.sa˥ nau ˥˩ bo˩ neu ˥˩ ne˥ sju ˥˩ pju ˥˩ ra˩.ra˩ za˩.zi˩.pau ˥˩]

Sada nau gaya u nau gegazu neu ne siu he zuzapihu.

[sa˥.da˩ nau ˥˩ ga˩.ja˩ u˩ nau ˥˩ ge˩.ga˩.zu˩ neu ˥˩ ne˥ sju ˥˩ e˥ zu˩.za˩.pju˥]

Rada siu bu bi sahu: i ne a rige?

[ra˩.da˩ sju ˥˩ bu˩ bi˩ sau ˥ i˩ ne˥ a˩ ri˩.ge˩]

Nau ya: a bu nei zudai za sahu: i ganene suu-suhu.

[nau˥˩ ja˩ a˩ bu˩ nei ˥˩ zu˩.dai˩ za˩ sau˥ i˩ ga˩.ne˥.ne˥ su: ˥˩ -su:˥]

Unenezuhu

Unenezuhu.

u-ne<RED>-move-NONHUM

Line 0:

Unenezuhu: The title of morality tales are full sentences condensed into a noun.

[u˩.ne˥.ne˥.zu˩.hu˥]

Paroda mau-sau nene zuhu sahu be ti

Paroda ma-u sa-u ne<RED> zu-hu sa-hu be ti

Long ago exist-person this-person touch<RED> move-NONHUM this-NONHUM feel bad

Line 1: Paroda mau-sau: ‘once upon a time there was a man’. ‘paroda’ is the traditional beginning of a morality tale. ‘mau’ – the reversal of ‘u’ and ‘ma’ is a stylistic feature of the genre. ‘sau’ – ‘this man’. Here ‘sa’ makes definite the previously mentioned man and almost relativizes it. ‘ne’ ‘touch’ reduplicated is iterative. ‘nene’ by itself means ‘touch repatedly’. ‘zuhu’ here is ‘animal’, but could equally well mean ‘vehicle’. ‘sa-hu’ has ‘sa’ rather than one of the other demonstratives because the human/non-human distinction of ‘u’ versus ‘hu’ is considered sufficient to distinguish the participants. ‘be ti’ here is both the verbal phrase for the subject ‘sahu’ and an adverbial phrase with ‘nene’ to specify the kind of touching which changes ‘nene’ from ‘touch’ to ‘beat’.

Suu zu sau suu bu bi sahu: i nene sahu rige?

Su-u zu sa-u su-u bu bi sa-hu: i ne<RED> sa-hu rige

Other-person go this-person other-person want know this-NONHUM: 2P beat this-NONHUM why?

Line 2: Suu: ‘other person’ introduces the interlocutor. ‘zu’ is ‘go’, ‘go to’, or ‘towards’. ‘sahu’ – this ‘sahu’ is not the animal, but the information which the other man is asking about. The non-human demonstratives are sloppier at distinctions than the human demonstratives. ‘nene’ here has the meaning ‘beat’, carried over from the previous line. This second ‘sahu’ is the animal.

Sau la: Sahu bi sane gabi sune.

sa-u la: sa-hu bi sa-ne ga-bi su-ne

this-person say: this-NONHUM know this-touch NEG-know other-touch

Line 3: La: Since this is He Śa, syllables with an l-onset are low tone. ‘X … NEG-X’ is a common method of setting up contrast in He Śa moral tales. Both He Śa and He Ya in non-narrative mode would likely keep only the negative phrase. ‘ne’ here is still ‘beating’ rather than a neutral ‘touch’. ‘sa’ and ‘su’ are the contrasting demonstratives, governed by ‘ne’.

A pu ne sahu zuda sihu bi za ta.

a pu ne sa-hu zuda si-hu bi za ta

1S must touch this-NONHUM until same-NONHUM know do good

Line 4: Pu: ‘ne’ is still ‘beat’. ‘sahu’ is the animal. ‘zuda’ ‘until’ governs clauses of time. ‘sihu’ ‘same-NONHUM’ is also the animal. ‘bi za ta’ is ‘know how to do good, know how to behave’. If ‘doing good’ were the object of ‘know’, the phrase would be ‘bi ta za’.

Sau zu nu siu nunu ra siu bo suhu.

sa-u zu nu si-u nu<RED> ra si-u bo su-hu

this-person go inside same-person inside house same-person see other-NONHUM

Line 5: Zu nu: ‘zu nu’ ‘go inside’ is composed of a verb ‘zu’ and a noun ‘nu’ ‘inside’. ‘siu’ is the same as ‘sau’, ‘nunu ra’ is a prepositional phrase ‘nunu (nu)ra’ ‘inside the house’. The challenge for the ‘biu’, storyteller, here is how best to avoid triplication or more of ‘nu’. Triplication of ‘nu’ might lead to a comparative interpretation of the phrase. ‘suhu’ is used instead of ‘sahu’ or ‘sihu’ because those might suggest that the man is seeing the house or the interior of the house rather than something within the house.

Sau nuu gaza nuuta.

sa-u nu-u ga-za nuu-ta

this-man inside-person NEG-do inside-person-good

Line 6: Sau: ‘sau’ here is an adjective modifying ‘nuu’. ‘nuu’ is an ‘inside person’, ‘wife’, ‘woman’. ‘nuu-ta’ is a further composite meaning ‘wifely good’, ‘household chores’.

Sazi gesihu: sau ne siu nuu be ti.

Sa-zi ge-si-hu: sau ne siu nuu be ti This-happen CAUS-same-NONHUM this-person touch same-person wife feel bad

Line 7: Sazi: ‘sazi’ indicates an event about to happen. ‘gesihu’ ‘because of the same thing’ canot refer to ‘sazi’, but only to the previous phrase. ‘siu’ is genitive and refers to ‘sau’.

Nau papa nuu ne nuu pala nunu nura.

na-u papa nuu ne nuu pa-la nunu nura

near-person hear wife touch wife big-say inside house

Line 8: ‘nau’ is ‘near person’,’neighbor’. ‘papa’ is ’hear’, always reduplicated to distinguish it from ‘pa’ ‘big’. ‘nuu’ in both cases is a genitive modifying parallel nouns ‘ne’ and ‘pa-la’. ‘nunu nura’ is a prepositional phrase, this time using the full form of ‘house’.

Nau la: i pu gane i nuu da-da-da

nau la: i pu ga-ne i nuu da<TRIP>

neighbor say: 2S must NEG-touch 2S wife time<TRIP>

Line 9: Nau: ‘nau’ begins to acquire quasi-pronominal status. ‘I’ in the first instance is a the subject, in the second a genitive. The triplication of ‘da’ ‘time’ as separate words indicates excess.

Neu la: a neu zuda siu bi za nuutata.

Ne-u la: a ne-u zuda si-u bi za nuu-ta<RED>

Touch-person say: I touch-him/her until this-person know do wife-good(s)

Line 10: Neu: ‘neu’ ‘touch-person’ is the same as the original ‘sau’. The second ‘neu’ is not a quasi-pronoun, but a verb ‘ne’ with an object suffix. ‘siu’ refers to the object ‘u’ rather than the noun ‘neu’. ‘tata’ – the reduplication is not necessary for grammar, but rather creates emphasis.

Dazusa nau bo neu ne siu piu rara zazipau.

dazusa nau bo neu ne siu pi-u rara zazipau

later neighbor see toucher touch same-person small-person in field

Line 11: Dazusa: ‘dazusa’ from ‘time-go-this’ indicates a shift of scene in time. ‘siu’ is a genitive referring to ‘neu’ ‘beater’, a reflexive pronoun. ‘piu’ is ‘child’. ‘zazipau’ is a phrase that has come to mean ‘field’.

Sada nau gala u nau gegazu neu ne siu he zuzapihu.

sa-da nau ga-la u na-u ge-ga-zu neu ne siu he zuzapihu

then neighbor NEG-say but neighbor CAUS-NEG-MOVE toucher touch same-person with stick

Line 12: Sada: ‘then, this time’ – ‘sada’ indicates both a subsequent action and a consequent action. ‘u’ here is a conjunction meaning ‘but’. ‘gegazu’ means ‘seize, immobilize’. ‘siu’ is the same as ‘neu’. ‘he’ is a preposition ‘with, by means of’.

Rada siu bu bi sahu: i ne a rige?

rada siu bu bi sahu: i ne a rige

immediately same-person want know this-NONHUM 2S touch 1S why

Line 13: Rada: ‘rada’ is used to indicate an immediate response ‘here and now’. ‘siu’ is the same as ‘neu’ above. The object ‘a’ does not suffix to verbs ending in ‘e’.

Nau la: a bu nei zuda i za sahu: i ganene suu-suhu.

nau la: a bu ne-i zuda i za sahu: i ga-nene su-u-su-hu

neighbor say: 1S FUT beat-2S until 2S know this-thing 2S NEG-touch<RED> other-person-other-NONHUM

Line 14: Bu: ‘bu’ ‘want’ is also a future auxiliary. The object ‘i’ ‘you’ suffixes to the verb. ‘suu-suhu’ is a doublet meaning ‘other people and other animals’; such forms are created according to the appropriate context.

Tower of Babel

Paroda mau-sau siu e zu ro gubohu ra zu darora Sina gazula sari.