CBB Conlang Relay/Buruya Nzaysa

Buruya Nzaysa text

Tɛh ɔ ñalisa u ru ɔdɔ, ni pɔ’ɔ wə ɛ’i se’ə. Esəña smada nzɔ uysava nada.

Səh ɔ yɔsko; səh ɔ toxasa. Ma’ɔwa nzo ñəmona olmat. Sə lo ruyo puh nzɔ xɔsɔ bəduga lu letsədə ah. Sə ɛru ɔ ñanɛvo tsəñe u ɛru. Tsonexa puh lo maldɔ sədə ɔ gəsta ñavra o oba dəpse kwə kətsɔda. Tsonexa lu mvɔnza puh lo avo aymɛ mvəbo oba ru ñeda. Esə ɔ nzɔñu rɛ səh ɔ toxasa!

Puh ɔ spɛ’ayla sədə, gasə dediga u mvəskɛ puh lo avo ah ɔ nzesu. Dal sə nzɔ ñəmona lu mvɔnza rɛbɛ aymɛ. Sə ɔ lotsɛ ñalta lu pima ah u maldɔ sədə ñuməgi. Esə nzɔ lu lotsɛ. Dal skena u namə dedi meko ntɛxavu dalmə. Xutsɔ ɔdɔ’ɔwa podɔ ŋkə esə mɔra o mura.

Sə lu restɛ xɛpu adɔ. Ma ɛru ɔ rudɔ nonə. Ma nzɔ ntɛ u sɔnza mɔwa, dal ntɛ u tsɛñɛru. Tsonah atsa ntɛ xə’ə oba maldɔ ɔdɔ no.

Glossary

morpheme	type	meaning
adɔ	(pp.)	(2nd person object form of ah: "of you")
ah	pp. +NOM	of, belonging to, with regard to
atsa	adv.	still; as it stands; in the end
avɔ	v.	flourish, thrive, prosper
aymɛ	(pp.)	(1st person plural object form of ah: "of us")
bəduga	adv.	almost, nearly, not quite
dal	cj.	but
dalmə	v.	present, lift towards, suggest
dedi	n.	option, possibility, chance
dediga	adv.	maybe, possibly
dəpse	n.	child
ɛru	pron.	everyone
ɛ’i	aux.	(optative auxiliary: "want to")
esə-	aux.	(emphatic/abilitative auxiliary: "do indeed, can indeed")
gas-	aux.	(permissive/potential auxiliary: "may")
gəsta	n.	family; descendants
kətsɔda	v.	give, donate, bestow, provide
kwə	pp. +NOM	with (comitative)
letsədə	n.	opposite; counterpart
lo	det.	(definite article, nominative)
lotsɛ	n.	correct, true; truth
lu	det.	(definite article, accusative)
ma-	aux.	(negative auxiliary: "do not")
maldɔ	n.	person, human being
meko	n.	lookalike, replacement, substitute, stand-in
mɔra	v.	choose, select
mɔwa	v.	begin; originate in
mura	v.	decide
mvəbo	pp. +ACC	between, among
mvəskɛ	n.	necessary thing, duty, prerequisite
mvɔnza	n.	tradition, informal knowledge, folk wisdom
nada	v.erg	feel (emotionally)
namə	qu.	some, a few
ni	cj.	if/then
no	v.erg	die
nonə	aux.	(intentional auxiliary: "going to")
ntɛ	pp. +NOM	with, by, like
ntɛxavu	adv.	also, furthermore
nzesu	n.	unusual, different
nzɔ	det./pron.	(topic marker, nominative)
nzo	det./pron.	(topic marker, accusative)
nzoñu	n.	virtue, righteous action; advantage
ñalisa	qu.	too many
ñalta	adv.	indeed, actually
ñanɛvo	n.	relative, kin
ñavra	n.	broad, wide, large
ñayɔsko	n.	joy, happiness, satisfaction, well-being
ñeda	v.	share
ñəmona	n.	conscience, responsibility, self-imposed duty
ñuməgi	v.	rely on, depend on
ŋkə	n.	same, identical, -self
ɔ	det.	(indefinite article, accusative)
ɔdɔ(w)-	aux.	(resultative auxiliary: "have become")
o	cj.	and
oba	qu.	many
olmat	v.	be familar with, be accustomed to
pimə	v.	sacrifice, cede, abandon
pɔ(w)-	aux.	(conditional auxiliary: "might, would, could")
podɔ	(pp.)	(2nd person object form of puh: "to/for you")
puh	pp. +NOM	to, for (benefactive)
rɛ	cj.	(complementizer, accusative)
rɛbɛ	n.	fertile; fruitful; suitable; morally appropriate
resti	v.	make up one's mind; vote
ri	cj.	(complementizer, nominative)
ru	n.	man; person
rudɔ	n.	archetype, role model
ruyɔ	v.	invent; solve a problem
se’ə	v.	jump; insist on
sədə	n.	another
smada	adv.	recently, lately
spɛ’ayla	n.	nation, ethnicity, large group of people
sɔnza	n.	doctrine, theory; explanation
so-	aux.	(null auxiliary: "do")
ta-	aux.	(inceptive auxiliary: "start")
toxasa	n.	large quantity, myriad, multitude
tsɛñɛru	n.	mutual agreement; win-win situation
tsəñe	n.	unlikely, far-fetched; having a distant but non-obvious connection
tson-	aux.	(habitual/gnomic auxiliary: "be always")
u	det.	(indefinite article, nominative)
u	pp. +NOM	of, from, connected to
uysava	n.	wish, desire
wə-	aux.	(predictive/future auxiliary: "will do")
xɛpu	n.	alone, on one's own, solitary
xə’ə	adv.	so, thus, in this way
xɔsɔ	n.	difficulty, obstacle, challenge, riddle
xutsɔ	cj.	so, therefore
yɔsko	n.	glad, happy, joyous, fortunate

Auxiliary suffixes:

morpheme	type	meaning
-ah	suffix	3rd person plural intransitive
-exa	suffix	1st person plural subject, 3rd person object
-ə	suffix	3rd person singular intransitive
-əh	suffix	1st person plural intransitive
-əña	suffix	1st person singular subject, 3rd person agent/source (used with ergative verbs)
-xena	suffix	3rd person reflexive
-’ɔ	suffix	2nd person singular intransitive
-’ɔwa	suffix	2nd person singular subject, 3rd person object

Note: Vowel-initial auxiliary suffixes usually delete a preceding vowel, with the exception that -ə is itself deleted after /a/, and that -əh coalesces with preceding /a/ into -ɛh. Suffixes beginning in /x/ delete a preceding /ə/, with the suffix-initial consonant fortifying to /k/; note that the emphatic auxiliary esə- reduces to s- before such suffixes.

Grammar

Typology

• mostly isolating
• head-initial
• basic word order: AuxSOV with occasional topic fronting and subclause postposing
• basic morphosyntactic alignment: NOM-ACC
• pro-drop

Nominals

• no distinction between nouns and adjectives
• nouns/adjectives do not inflect at all
• determiners are mandatory in all full (i.e. non-pronominal) noun phrases. If no other determiner is present, non-numeral quantifiers can also fulfil this role.
• nouns without a determiner usually have adjectivial function
• most determiners are marked for case
• nominal number is unmarked

Prepositions

• prepositions inflect for the person of their object
• each preposition governs a specific case for their object
• objects of prepositions can be omitted if clear from context

Verbs

• content verbs do not inflect at all (except that they may be nominalised e.g. in subclauses or when serving as the object of a preposition; this is typically indicated by using a different word-final vowel)
• auxiliary verbs are mandatory in all clauses
• auxiliary verbs inflect for person and number of the subject AND person of the object
• there is a small class of "ergative verbs" (mostly verbs of perception) whose subjects are marked with the accusative case, and which require a special set of transitive person markers on the auxiliary
• aspect and mood are indicated by the choice of the auxiliary
• no tense marking
• additional distinctions may be made by adding one or more uninflected auxiliary right before the content verb, or sentence-finally if the content verb is missing
• in clauses which have no content verb but contain an accusative-marked noun phrase, the auxiliary functions as a copula

Links

Grammar sketch: http://akana.conlang.org/wiki/Buruya_Nzaysa

Interlinear gloss

Tɛh         ɔ         ñalisa   u    ru  ɔdɔ,    ni      pɔ’ɔ         wə      ɛ’i     se’ə.
ta     -əh  ɔ         ñalisa   u    ru  ɔdɔ     ni      pɔ      -’ɔ  wə      ɛ’i     se’ə
INC.COP-1PL INDEF.ACC too_many of.3 man RES.AUX if/then COND.AUX-2SG FUT.AUX OPT.AUX jump

When we become too many people, you will want to jump.


Esəña          smada    nzɔ     uysava    nada.
esə     -əña   smada    nzɔ     uysa  .va nada
EMPH.AUX-1SG<3 recently TOP.NOM desire.VN feel

I am certainly feeling this desire recently.


Səh          ɔ         yɔsko;    səh          ɔ         toxasa.
so      -əh  ɔ         yɔsko     so      -əh  ɔ         toxasa
NULL.COP-1PL INDEF.ACC fortunate NULL.COP-1PL INDEF.ACC multitude

We are lucky; we are numerous.


Ma’ɔwa        nzo     ñəmona         olmat.
ma     -’ɔwa  nzo     ñəmona         olmat
NEG.AUX-2SG>3 TOP.ACC responsibility be_familiar_with

You are not familiar with this responsibility.


Sə           lo      ruyo     puh   nzɔ     xɔsɔ      bəduga lu      letsədə  ah.
so      -ə   lo      ruyɔ .o  puh   nzɔ     xɔsɔ      bəduga lu      letsədə  ah
NULL.COP-3SG DEF.NOM solve.VN for.3 TOP.NOM challenge almost DEF.ACC opposite of.3

The solution to that challenge is almost the opposite of it.


Sə           ɛru      ɔ         ñanɛvo   tsəñe               u    ɛru.
so      -ə   ɛru      ɔ         ñanɛvo   tsəñe               u    ɛru
NULL.COP-3SG everyone INDEF.ACC relative distantly_connected of.3 everyone

Everyone is a distant relative of everyone.


Tsonexa       puh   lo      maldɔ  sədə  ɔ         gəsta  ñavra o   oba  dəpse kwə    kətsɔda.
tson   -exa   puh   lo      maldɔ  sədə  ɔ         gəsta  ñavra o   oba  dəpse kwə    kətsɔda
HAB.AUX-1PL>3 for.3 DEF.NOM person other INDEF.ACC family wide  and many child with.3 donate

We are used to giving a large family and many children to other people.


Tsonexa       lu      mvɔnza      puh   lo      avo       aymɛ   mvəbo     oba  ru  ñeda.
tson   -exa   lu      mvɔnza      puh   lo      avɔ   .o  aymɛ   mvəbo     oba  ru  ñeda
HAB.AUX-1PL>3 DEF.ACC folk_wisdom for.3 DEF.NOM thrive.VN of.1PL between.3 many man share

We are used to sharing the knowledge for our prosperity with many people.


Esə          ɔ         nzɔñu  rɛ      səh          ɔ         toxasa!
esə     -ə   ɔ         nzɔñu  rɛ      so      -əh  ɔ         toxasa
EMPH.COP-3SG INDEF.ACC virtue SUB.ACC NULL.COP-1PL INDEF.ACC multitude

It is a good thing that we are numerous!


Puh   ɔ         spɛ’ayla sədə,
puh   ɔ         spɛ’ayla sədə
for.3 INDEF.ACC nation   other

gasə         dediga   u         mvəskɛ    puh   lo      avo       ah   ɔ         nzesu.
gaso    -ə   dediga   u         mvəskɛ    puh   lo      avɔ   .o  ah   ɔ         nzesu
PERM.COP-3SG possibly INDEF.NOM necessary for.3 DEF.NOM thrive.VN of.3 INDEF.ACC different

For other nations, that which is necessary for their prosperity might be different.


Dal sə           nzɔ     ñəmona         lu      mvɔnza      rɛbɛ        aymɛ.
dal so      -ə   nzɔ     ñəmona         lu      mvɔnza      rɛbɛ        aymɛ
but NULL.COP-3SG TOP.NOM responsibility DEF.ACC folk_wisdom appropriate of.1PL

But this responsibility is our proper tradition.


Sə           ɔ         lotsɛ
so      -ə   ɔ         lotsɛ
NULL.COP-3SG INDEF.ACC truth

ri      tsonexa       puh   lo      ñayɔsko   o   avo       aymɛ   kwə
ri      tson   -exa   puh   lo      ñayɔsko   o   avɔ   .o  aymɛ   kwə
SUB.NOM HAB.AUX-1PL>3 for.3 DEF.NOM happiness and thrive.VN of.1PL with.3

ñalta  lu      pima         ah   u         maldɔ  sədə  ñuməgi.
ñalta  lu      pimə     .a  ah   u         maldɔ  sədə  ñuməgi
indeed DEF.ACC sacrifice.VN of.3 INDEF.NOM person other rely_on

It is true that we indeed depend on the sacrifice of others for our happiness and prosperity.


Esə          nzɔ     lu      lotsɛ.
esə     -ə   nzɔ     lu      lotsɛ
EMPH.COP-3SG TOP.NOM DEF.ACC truth

This is the truth.


Dal skena           u         namə dedi   meko        ntɛxavu dalmə.
dal esə     -xena   u         namə dedi   meko        ntɛxavu dalmə
but EMPH.AUX-3.REFL INDEF.NOM some option replacement also    present

But some alternative options also present themselves.


Xutsɔ     ɔdɔ’ɔwa       podɔ  ŋkə  esə      mɔra   o   mura.
xutsɔ     ɔdɔ    -’ɔwa  podɔ  ŋkə  esə      mɔra   o   mura
therefore RES.AUX-2SG>3 for.2 same EMPH.AUX select and decide

So you can choose and decide for yourself.


Sə           lu      restɛ     xɛpu  adɔ.
so      -ə   lu      resti .ɛ  xɛpu  adɔ
NULL.COP-3SG DEF.ACC choose.VN alone of.2

It is your own choice.


Ma          ɛru      ɔ         rudɔ      nonə.
ma     -ə   ɛru      ɔ         rudɔ      nonə
NEG.COP-3SG everyone INDEF.ACC archetype INT.AUX

Not everyone is going to be a role model.


Ma          nzɔ     ntɛ  u         sɔnza  mɔwa,
ma     -ə   nzɔ     ntɛ  u         sɔnza  mɔwa
NEG.AUX-3SG TOP.NOM by.3 INDEF.NOM theory begin

dal ntɛ  u         tsɛñɛru.
dal ntɛ  u         tsɛñɛru
but by.3 INDEF.NOM mutual.agreement

This does not begin with doctrine, but with mutual agreement.


Tsonah      atsa         ntɛ  xə’ə     oba  maldɔ  ɔdɔ     no.
tson   -ah  atsa         ntɛ  xə’ə     oba  maldɔ  ɔdɔ     no
HAB.AUX-3PL as_it_stands by.3 this_way many person RES.AUX die

In the end, many people die this way.

Smooth English translation

When we become too many people, you will want to jump. I am certainly feeling this desire recently.

We are lucky; we are numerous. You are not familiar with this responsibility. The solution to that challenge is almost the opposite of it. Everyone is a distant relative of everyone. We are used to giving a large family and many children to other people. We are used to sharing the knowledge for our prosperity with many people. It is a good thing that we are numerous!

For other nations, that which is necessary for their prosperity might be different. But this responsibility is our proper tradition. It is true that we indeed depend on the sacrifice of others for our happiness and prosperity. This is the truth. But some alternative options also present themselves. So you can choose and decide for yourself.

It is your own choice. Not everyone is going to be a role model. This does not begin with doctrine, but with mutual agreement. In the end, many people die this way.

	CBB Conlang Relay
CrazyEttin — Antregabua — torch Skógvur — Vanga — torch nmn — Jumju — torch Ossicone — Uskra — torch Chagen — Pazmat — torch Trailsend — Feayran — torch Milyamd — Perkelen — torch Xing — Wakeu — torch MrKrov — Pag-buum — torch Maraxxus — Maxédri — torch cedh — Buruya Nzaysa — torch 2-4 — Kàipói — torch Crazyettin — English — torch
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